Vice-Minister of China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Jun said the tariffs would have little impact on China as compared to the US.

His comment came as agricultural imports from the US such as soybean are meant to decrease in the face of tariffs as the Chinese government has made preparations to offset price hike pressures.

“There’s fierce competition in agricultural export in the international market. Other countries are willing and able to replace America’s agricultural market share in China. China doesn’t want a trade war, but America continues to escalate trade tensions, we have to take countermeasures,” Han said.

Han pointed out that China has the confidence and ability to guarantee domestic supply. In addition to importing soybeans from surrogate countries such as Brazil and Russia, soybean products also could be replaced by rapeseed, sunflower seed, or fish meal.

The Chinese government has been encouraging farmers to grow soybeans by offering subsidies and technology support in recent years.

Han also signified that China would continue to open up in the agriculture sector and increase imports to meet the demand for quality agricultural products.

China is the world’s largest agriculture importer, especially for the US.