CNN \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
China has vowed to \u201cfight till the end\u201d after US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war by doubling tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beijing hit back at Trump\u2019s levies by imposing retaliatory tariffs of up to 15% on selected American goods, expanding export controls to a dozen US firms and filing a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization. <\/strong>It also sent a stern warning to the Trump administration: Chinese people will never bow to \u201chegemony or bullying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPressure, coercion and threats are not the right ways to engage with China. Trying to exert maximum pressure on China is a miscalculation and a mistake,\u201d Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China\u2019s Foreign Ministry, told a regular news briefing Tuesday afternoon. \u201cIf the US insists on waging a tariff war, trade war, or any other kind of war, China will fight till the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The barrage of retaliatory measures and fiery exchanges came as Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to hold a major political gathering designed to project confidence in his country\u2019s ability to stay the course and weather external headwinds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As thousands of delegates convene in the Chinese capital for the country\u2019s \u201ctwo sessions\u201d annual meeting, Xi and his officials are set to use the highly choreographed spectacle to broadcast China<\/a> as a major power steadily advancing its tech prowess and global rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That escalating rivalry between the two powers will be in the spotlight on Wednesday morning in Beijing, when Trump\u2019s first address to Congress will roughly coincide with a state-of-the-union-like speech delivered by China\u2019s No. 2 official Li Qiang at the opening meeting of the National\u2019s People Congress (NPC), which rubber-stamps decisions already made behind closed doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There, Li is expected to announce China\u2019s yearly targets for economic growth and military spending \u2014 and lay out how Beijing plans to continue its economic growth and transformation into a technological powerhouse in the face of mounting pressure from the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n