BEIJING — A spokesperson with China’s Ministry of Commerce on July 9 introduced measures taken to relieve the impacts of China-US trade frictions on companies.

“In response to new US tariffs imposed on July 6, China had to take necessary countermeasures,” the spokesperson said.

When formulating the list of US products that would be subject to countermeasure tariffs, China took into full consideration the substitutability of the imported products and the overall impacts on trade and investment, the spokesperson said.

At the same time, China will take the following measures:

— Continuously evaluate the impacts on different kinds of companies.

— The new tax income from the countermeasures will be mainly used to relieve the impacts on companies and their employees.

— Encourage companies to adjust import structure, and increase the imports of agricultural products such as soybeans and soybean meal, aquatic products, and automobiles from other countries and regions.

— Step up the implementation of the guidelines released by the State Council on June 15 on making active and effective use of foreign investment and promoting high-quality economic development to reinforce the protection of corporate interests and create a better investment environment.

The spokesperson added that the policies will be constantly improved, and opinions and suggestions in this respect will be welcomed.

“For companies that are severely impacted, we suggest they report to local government departments,” the spokesperson said.