China has responded defiantly to US President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports, accusing him of using the fentanyl crisis as a pretext for trade escalation. In editorials published late on November 26, state-run outlets China Daily and Global Times rejected Trump’s justification for the new tariffs, which would add an extra 10% on top of existing duties.

The tariffs, which Trump vowed to introduce when he takes office on January 20, could further strain the $400bn in annual trade between the two nations, as well as the broader supply chains linking Chinese goods to US consumers, as reported by Reuters.

Trump’s latest tariff threat has rattled China's industrial complex, with economists already downgrading growth forecasts for the world’s second-largest economy. Analysts from S&P Global have revised their growth projections for China for 2025 and 2026, citing the potential impact of these tariffs. The firm now expects Chinese GDP growth to slow to 4.1% in 2025 and 3.8% in 2026, down by 0.2 and 0.7 percentage points, respectively.

The editorial in China Daily sharply rebuked Trump’s rhetoric, accusing the US of scapegoating China in its battle with fentanyl. "Scapegoating others can’t end US' drug crisis," the publication asserted, adding that the blame for the fentanyl epidemic lies squarely within the US. "The world sees clearly that the root cause of the fentanyl crisis in the US lies with the US itself," the editorial concluded.

In a similar tone, the Global Times warned Washington not to take China’s cooperation in anti-drug efforts for granted. "If the US continues to politicise economic and trade issues by weaponising tariffs, it will leave no party unscathed," the publication stated.

Trump has long blamed China for being the primary source of chemical precursors used by Mexican cartels to manufacture fentanyl, which has contributed to the devastating opioid crisis in the US In his November 25 speech, he also announced plans to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada unless they address issues related to drugs and migrants crossing the border.

Despite the tariff threats, S&P Global’s Chief Asia Economist Louis Kuijs noted that "the risks in this area are high," as it remains uncertain how far Trump will push with his proposed tariffs. As the trade tension between the two economic giants intensifies, the global economic outlook appears increasingly fragile.