China strongly condemns, firmly opposes new U.S. tariffs to be imposed on Chinese goods: embassy

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- China strongly condemns and firmly opposes new tariffs to be imposed by the United States on a list of Chinese products, the Chinese Embassy in the United States said here Tuesday.

"The Chinese side strongly condemns and firmly opposes the unfounded Section 301 investigation and the proposed list of products and tariff increases based on the investigation," the embassy said in a statement, shortly after Washington unveiled the list, which will affect Chinese imports worth 50 billion U.S. dollars.

The list was authorized by the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) office, which in August 2017 initiated an investigation under the Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to probe alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices.

According to the list, the products included industries such as aerospace, information and communication technology, robotics and machinery.

China has repeatedly said that Section 301 investigation is a unilateral move that violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

"Such unilateralistic and protectionist action has gravely violated fundamental principles and values of the WTO. It serves neither China's interest, nor U.S. interest, even less, the interest of the global economy," the Chinese embassy said in its statement.

It added that Beijing will resort to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and take the corresponding measures of equal scale and strength against U.S. products in accordance with Chinese law.

"We hope that the U.S. side, with sense and long-term picture in mind, refrain from going further down the 'wrong path'," it said.

On Tuesday, the USTR unveiled the list under Trump's tariff proclamation signed on March 22. From that date on, there will be 60 days until the import barriers actually take effect. Enditem