China's countermeasures against US unreasonable tariffs citing fentanyl remain effective: FM spokesman

China's countermeasures against the 20 percent tariffs the United States imposed on Chinese goods under the pretext of fentanyl remain effective, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Wednesday.

The countermeasures include both tariffs and non-tariff measures, Lin said at a regular news conference.

Lin made the remarks days after China and the US announced their decisions to drastically roll back additional tariffs against each other.

The US announced twice in February to impose a 10 percent additional tariff on Chinese goods, citing fentanyl as the reason.

In response, China imposed additional tariffs on certain US goods in February and March.

Lin also dismissed remarks made by former US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, who reportedly said the US has made it clear to China that failing to coordinate on the fentanyl issue comes at a cost.

Such remarks disregard facts, and are irresponsible, Lin said, voicing China's firm opposition.

"We have made it clear many times that the fentanyl issue is the US', not China's, problem, and the responsibility lies in the US itself," Lin said.

The fact that the US disregarded China's goodwill and imposed fentanyl tariffs on China has impacted bilateral counternarcotics dialogue and cooperation, Lin said.

"If the US truly wants to cooperate with China, it should stop smearing and deflecting blame to China, and talk with China in an equal, respectful and mutually beneficial manner," he said.