Investing.com - China has said it will use “quantitative and qualitative” measures to hit back at U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on as much as $250 billion worth of Chinese imports.
China only imports $190 billion of goods and services from the U.S. so Beijing will not be able to find a reciprocal $250 billion worth of U.S. imports to impose tariffs.
But Beijing has other ways to fight back.
So far it is hard to gauge what the countermeasures might entail analysts say, but they could include restrictions on U.S. visas or investments into China.
U.S. companies operating in China might feel the brunt of any retaliatory measures, such as ad hoc regulatory probes of U.S. companies by Chinese authorities.
In recent months, Chinese imports of some U.S. food, cars and pet food were subject to lengthy customs delays for more stringent inspections.
There is also the possibility of also weakening the Chinese yuan to offset some tariffs.
Beijing could also make its countermeasures permanent rather than temporary, and if the situation deteriorated U.S. firms could be excluded from China’s financial markets.
China's Foreign Ministry has said the country does not want a trade war, but it's not afraid to engage in one.