The Chinese Embassy in Washington stated on Monday that neither the United States nor China would benefit from a trade war. This response came after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to impose an extra 10% tariff on all Chinese imports after he assumes office on January 20.

"About the issue of US tariffs on China, China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature," Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Liu Pengyu stated in a statement. "No one will win a trade war or a tariff war," he added. Trump said he would keep the tariffs in place until China stops the illegal flow of drugs, especially fentanyl, into the U.S.

In response, Liu mentioned that China had already taken action to fight drug trafficking after an agreement was made last year between President Biden and President Xi Jinping. 

"The Chinese side has notified the US side of the progress made in US-related law enforcement operations against narcotics. All these prove that the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality," Liu said.

Since Xi and Biden decided to resume their collaborative efforts last year, there has been noticeable but gradual progress in cooperation to stop the illegal trafficking of ingredients used to make lethal fentanyl.

The United States, where fentanyl misuse has been a leading cause of death, has pressured China to impose stricter laws, including cracking down on illegal finance and enforcing more restrictions on the substances. In June, China's top prosecutor called on law enforcement to focus more on fighting drug trafficking. This came as China and the U.S. launched a rare joint investigation into drugs.

In August, just days after a meeting of a counternarcotics group, China announced plans to strengthen regulations on three chemicals used to make fentanyl. The development from China came as a response after President-elect Donald Trump pledged to slap an extra 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports followed by a 25 per cent on all goods from Mexico and Canada. 

Trump's declaration on Monday shook global markets and provided the most definite sign so far that he plans to enact a more concentrated version of the unorthodox "America First" economic policies that propelled him back to the White House. According to a report by Al Jazeera, Trump made this decision in response to irregular border crossings and drug trafficking. 

Trump stated that he would slap tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports on the first day of his administration and that the restrictions would be in place until the "invasion" of illegal immigrants and narcotics ended in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long-simmering problem,” Trump said. “We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!” 

It wasn't clear whether Trump's proposed tariffs would be added to or replace the ones he talked about during his campaign. During the campaign, Trump promised to impose tariffs of 60% or more on Chinese goods and mentioned the possibility of a 1,000% or higher tariff on cars imported from Mexico. “Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before,” Trump said.