It's time for US to wake up and smell the coffee

With a week to go before the United States imposes 10 percent tariffs on another $300 billion of Chinese goods, as threatened by the US leader on Aug 1, Washington must have been waiting for the other shoe to drop since on previous occasions China announced countermeasures soon after the US levied tariffs on Chinese imports.

Beijing announced its latest countermeasure on Friday - 10 percent and 5 percent tariffs on $75 billion of US goods in two batches. The first to be imposed on Sept 1 and the second on Dec 15. Which drives home the message, again, that it will, under no circumstances, give in to Washington's bullying tactics, and instead keep fighting until the US puts an end to its "maximum pressure" policy.

The meeting of the leaders of China and the US on the sidelines of the Osaka G20 Summit on June 29 created a positive atmosphere for the resumption of bilateral trade talks, as they agreed the negotiation should be held on an equal footing and with mutual respect, and the US leader pledged that he would not levy new tariffs on Chinese goods.