BEIJING (Sputnik) — China will undertake all necessary steps to retaliate over possible restrictive measures in bilateral trade with the United States, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said in a statement.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was signing a presidential memorandum to direct US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to investigate China's actions relating to copyright and intellectual property.
"If the United States does not take into account the facts, does not respect the rules of multilateral trade and acts to the detriment of the trade relations between the two countries, China will not silently watch from the sidelines and will undertake necessary measures to ensure its legitimate rights and interests," the statement reads.
Last week, the Politico media outlet reported citing a government official that Trump was going to instruct US trade representatives to open a probe into the alleged theft under Section 301 of the 1974 US Trade Act, which would allow Washington to take unilateral action against foreign governments that violate international trade agreements or damage US trade interests.
