China warns US on higher tariff report

Foreign Ministry spokesman: Countermeasures would follow

China will inevitably take countermeasures if the United States further hinders bilateral trade, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday in response to Western news reports saying that Washington would more than double a set of earlier proposed levies on Chinese goods.

The reports say a 25 percent tariff - instead of the original 10 percent - would be proposed on $200 billion of Chinese goods by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Reports cited unnamed sources familiar with the plan, which could be announced as early as Wednesday in Washington.