China on Thursday launched a scathing attack against the United States with whom it is engaged in a trade war, saying, the provocation by Washington on the business front is "naked economic terrorism".
"We (China) are against the trade war, but we are not afraid of it," Al Jazeera quoted Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui as saying.
"This premeditated instigation of a trade conflict is naked economic terrorism, economic chauvinism, and economic bullying," Zhang added.
Beijing and Washington are at loggerheads ever since talks between the world's largest economies to end trade tensions failed earlier this month.
"There is no winner in a trade war," he warned. "This trade conflict will also have a serious negative impact on the development and revival of the global economy."
The months-long trade negotiations between China and the US broke down recently. US increased tariffs on Chinese goods amounting to over 200 billion USD even as the two sides were in the midst of negotiations. In retaliation, China said that it would be increasing duties on USD 60 billion worth US imports from June 1.
The US Commerce Department also formally added Huawei to the list of compes the US government considers to be undermining American interests. By adding Huawei to the so-called Entity List, the Trump administration has ensured that Huawei is covered by the new executive order.
The United States has on several occasions publicly asked its allies to steer clear of using Huawei products over concerns that the equipment could be used by the Chinese government to obtain private information.
( With inputs from ANI )