China readies for "any other type of war" after Trump tariffs hit

The big picture: "If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end," the Chinese Foreign Ministry posted on X Tuesday night, in one of Beijing's strongest rebukes of Trump's tariffs so far.

• The Foreign Ministry also dismissed Trump's claim that higher tariffs were needed to curb the flow of the fentanyl into the U.S. as a "flimsy excuse."
• "Our countermeasures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary," it added.

State of play: The Trump administration this week hit China with a 10% tariff on its exports. That's on top of the 10% tariff Trump already imposed on Chinese exports earlier this year.

• China responded by slapping 15% tariffs on imports of American chicken, wheat, cotton and corn, and levying 10% tariffs on imports of U.S. sorghum, pork, soybeans, beef, dairy, seafood, fruits, and vegetables.

• The tariffs are set to take effect on March 10.
• Beijing also announced that it would bar sales of Chinese products to 15 American companies, the New York Times reported.

Go deeper: New tariffs hit, but there's a $100 billion hole in the data