The U.S. Capitol building is pictured in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Jan. 6, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

The United States' unilateral imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese goods is a blatant act of trade bullying, damaging bilateral trade and erodes the rules-based global trade system, according to a Chinese expert.

Xu Xiujun, director of the Research Center for Sino-Foreign Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a professor at its International Political Economy Institute, voiced his concerns during an interview with China.org.cn on Wednesday. "The U.S. imposition of extra tariffs on Chinese goods severely disrupts normal bilateral trade and jeopardizes the sustainable development of China-U.S. ties," he said. "The move violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and pushes the global trade order once again to the brink of chaos."

Following the U.S. imposition of a 10% additional tariff on Chinese imports on Feb. 4, citing the fentanyl issue, Beijing swiftly responded with a series of economic countermeasures the same day.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced that China will implement additional tariffs on select U.S. goods starting Feb. 10. These tariffs include a 15% levy on U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas, and a 10% increase on existing tariffs for crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement automobiles and pickup trucks. 

China's State Administration for Market Regulation also announced an anti-monopoly investigation into Google, and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the General Administration of Customs jointly declared export controls on certain items related to tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium, effective Tuesday.  

The Chinese government has also filed a complaint with the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism, as confirmed by an MOC spokesperson on Tuesday, to "safeguard China's legitimate rights and interests."

"By taking the U.S. tariff measures to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, the Chinese government has not only demonstrated its firm stance in safeguarding its own rights and interests, but also taken concrete action to uphold the international trade order based on WTO rules," said Xu.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, "Applying pressure and issuing threats is not the right way to handle relations with China," arguing that shifting the blame to other countries does not address the U.S. fentanyl crisis.

"The real solution lies in reducing domestic drug demand and strengthening law enforcement cooperation," Lin added. He also highlighted that China enforces some of the strictest drug control policies in the world.

Xu highlighted China's longstanding leadership in drug control, noting that China was the first country to officially schedule fentanyl-related substances as a distinct class back in 2019.

"In contrast, due to lax regulatory oversight, the U.S. has been grappling with rampant drug abuse and widespread drug problems," he said. Xu criticized the U.S. government for singling out unrelated Chinese products with unilateral tariffs — a tactic designed to conceal its own inability to effectively address domestic drug issues while protecting the interests of large pharmaceutical companies and their political allies.

"This approach not only fails to address the challenges facing the U.S. but actually worsens its problems," he added.

Xu said that China will enhance cooperation with other WTO members, firmly opposes unilateralism and trade protectionism, and embraces genuine multilateralism.

"China will work to promote stable and sustainable international economic and trade cooperation in line with the WTO's core principles of fair competition, transparency and predictability," he said.