TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Beijing threatened to hit back with a string of economic measures targeting the US as Trump’s 10% tariffs on Chinese imports went into effect on Tuesday.

China said it would levy a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-engine cars, and pickup trucks, per Reuters. Beijing also announced new export controls effective immediately on key minerals, including tungsten, critical for electronics, defense equipment, and solar panels.

In addition, China added two US firms, biotech company Illumina and fashion retailer PVH Group, to its unreliable entities list. Meanwhile, the country started an anti-monopoly investigation into Google. 

China’s tariffs target at most US$20 billion, or 12%, of its annual imports from the US. According to China Economics leader Julian Evans-Pritchard, this is “a far cry” from the US targeting more than US$450 billion in Chinese goods. 

"The measures are fairly modest, at least relative to US moves, and have been calibrated to send a message to the US (and domestic audiences),” he said. 

Trump is expected to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) before China’s tariffs go into effect next Monday, meaning there might be time for the two largest economies to avoid a major trade war. Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports was paused for 30 days after his calls with those countries’ leaders last Monday.

Beijing on Sunday vowed to “resolutely defend its rights” and filed a complaint about Trump’s tariff measures with the World Trade Organization. The statement said, “The US practice seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system, undermines the foundation of economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States, and disrupts the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain.”