Following US President Barack Obama's decision last week to impose emergency tariffs on Chinese tires, vice minister at China's Ministry of Commerce, Zhong Shan, has stated that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the possible negative impacts caused by the case on Chinese related enterprises and would coordinate to solve the problems they faced and would strive to help them smooth away difficulties.
Mr. Zhong also called the tire duties a serious act of trade protectionism which violated WTO regulations. China would encourage the relevant tire manufacturers to optimize their export structures, to improve product quality and technical services based on technical progress, as well as to boost the development of high value-added tires. He added that the government would also proactively study policies which would provide the necessary support.
In addition, China's Ministry of Commerce has also threatened action against imports of US poultry and vehicle parts. Some experts have commented that China has threatened to retaliate in a way that has high political significance but modest economic impact, and that the likelihood of triggering a trade war is not great.