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Beijing officials conveyed the message during a video call with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer earlier this week, according to a post by Yuyuantantian, a Weibo account affiliated with state-run China Central Television.

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“If the U.S. is determined to harm China’s interests, China will resolutely retaliate,” the media outlet — which regularly signals Beijing’s thinking about trade — said in the post, without citing where it got the information. The post didn’t mention any details about any possible countermeasures.

China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng had “candid and in-depth exchanges” on key issues in bilateral economic and trade relations with Greer during their video call on Wednesday, Chinese state media said. The U.S. readout on the exchange, however, said that Greer expressed “serious concerns” about China’s trade policies. Greer and He agreed on the importance of maintaining communication going forward.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to announce a sweeping reciprocal tariff program on April 2 against major trade partners, amid deepening strains between the world’s two largest economies. The president has already imposed a cumulative 20 per cent surtax on goods imported from China.

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