Vice Commerce Minister Ling Ji told a panel of US company representatives on Sunday that the tariffs "firmly protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, including American companies"
Employees check woven plastic bags at a factory which produces plastic products for export in Lianyungang, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province on March 10, 2025. Image: AFP / China OUT
A top Chinese official has vowed to protect US firms and pledged his country will remain a "promising land" for foreign investment, Beijing said Monday, after it slapped 34 percent tariffs on US imports.
China retaliated last week against levies at the same level announced by US President Donald Trump on what he called "Liberation Day".
Beijing also imposed export controls on seven rare earth elements, including gadolinium—commonly used in magnetic resonance imaging—and yttrium, which is used in consumer electronics.
Vice commerce minister Ling Ji told a panel of US company representatives on Sunday that the tariffs "firmly protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, including American companies", his ministry said.
Those levies—which come into effect on Thursday—"are aimed at bringing the United States back onto the right track of the multilateral trade system", he told the representatives, including of GE Healthcare and Medtronic.