From 00:00 on February 10, China will impose tariffs on some imported goods originating from the United States officially take effect.

On February 4, the US government imposed a 10% tariff on all Chinese goods imported to the United States on the grounds of fentanyl and other issues. At the same time, China immediately announced tariff countermeasures, which took effect on February 10.

China's attitude is very clear:

The countermeasures against the US will be implemented as scheduled. If the US takes other actions, China will continue to take resolute measures to safeguard its own interests.

China's attitude shows at least two things.

The first thing is that the US needs to pay for its actions.

This is clearly reflected in the area where China imposes tariffs.

According to the announcement of the Tariff Commission of the State Council, China imposes a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas originating from the United States, and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement vehicles and pickup trucks originating from the United States.

In other words, the goods that impose tariffs on the United States are mainly concentrated in energy and automobiles.

According to the US, tariffs are imposed to reduce the US trade deficit and protect the US manufacturing industry. We all know that due to the problems of the United States' own economic structure, the United States has a widespread deficit with global trade, and China is no exception.

Energy is one of the few areas in the United States that have a trade surplus with China. According to Tan Zhu's calculations, in 2024, the United States' surplus with China in the energy field will be 156.676 billion yuan. This shows the accuracy of China's countermeasures.

US media also admitted that US energy is not irreplaceable to China, and China can find import substitutions from other countries and regions such as Russia and the Middle East.

Some people may think that the same is true for the United States' energy not to sell to China, but to other countries, and the impact is not that great. In fact, the international energy market has formed relatively fixed trade flows for a long time and established relatively stable energy trade relations. If the direction of trade changes, it will affect the whole body.

Take liquefied natural gas as an example, it cannot be sold to anyone who wants to sell it to - liquefied natural gas ports require special design and construction. Even if there are mature ports, their acceptance capacity is still ranged.

The second thing is that China needs the world, and the world also needs China.

After the last round of Sino-US economic and trade frictions, China's experience and ability to deal with the trade war have improved.

In 2018, the total trade in goods between China and the United States was US$633.52 billion, and China's surplus with the United States was US$323.33 billion. In 2024, the total trade in goods between China and the United States was US$688.28 billion, and China's surplus with the United States was US$361.032 billion.

This set of data reflects the resilience of Sino-US economic and trade relations. At the same time, the trade structure between the two sides is also changing.

According to relevant statistics, compared with 2018, the share of products such as transportation equipment in the US exports to China in 2023 has dropped significantly, and a large share of exports has been replaced by primary products such as agricultural products and energy and minerals.

Basic products mean that they are very substitutable. If the US insists on escalating trade frictions and fighting a trade war, then under China's firm countermeasures, the US will suffer greater losses by then.

China's confidence comes not only from China-US bilateral economic and trade.

In the past few years, the US has wooed allies to "decouple and break chain" with China, intending to suppress China's position in the global trade system.

Data shows that in the past seven years, under such a background, China has been ranked first in the world's largest commodity exporter for seven consecutive years.

The latest data shows that China's share of world exports will reach 14.2% by 2023, an increase from before the trade war began in 2018.

This shows that our export market is becoming more and more diverse, and our economic and trade ties with other countries in the world are becoming more and more close.

China needs the world, and the world also needs China. This is the confidence in China's response to the trade war.