China tells U.S. not to use fentanyl issue to pressure, blackmail it

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese spokesperson on Tuesday told the United States that the Chinese people have never been swayed by fallacies, deterred by intimidation, or cowed by bullying.

Pressuring, coercion or threat is not the right way to engage with China, and exerting maximum pressure on China is a mistargeted and miscalculated approach, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said when commenting on the U.S. imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese imports citing the fentanyl issue as an excuse, despite China's repeated opposition.

"It is legitimate and necessary for China to take countermeasures to defend its rights and interests," he said.

The root cause of the fentanyl issue lies in the United States itself. "In the spirit of humanity and our friendship with the American people, we have taken strong steps to help the U.S. with its response to the fentanyl issue. This is obvious to all and people from various sectors in the U.S. have expressed thanks to China on multiple occasions," Lin said.

"Instead of recognizing our effort, the U.S. has smeared and shifted blames onto China, and pressured and blackmailed China with tariff hikes. They are punishing us for helping them," he said.

If the United States really wants to settle the fentanyl issue, it needs to stand by the principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit and engage in consultation with China to address each other's concerns, Lin said.

"If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and insists on waging a tariff war, trade war or whatever war, China will not flinch and is ready to make due response," he said.

"We urge the U.S. to stop being domineering and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation at an early date," he said.