Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will "firmly counter" US pressure on trade, after Washington imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods.

In a press conference on Friday on the sidelines of the ongoing "Two Sessions" in Beijing, Wang also raised the risk that the "law of the jungle" could take hold in the world.

"China-US economic and trade ties are mutual. If you choose to cooperate, you can achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results. If you use only pressure, China will firmly counter," he said.

Commenting on the move by the Trump administration to impose additional tariffs using the fentanyl issue as a pretext, Wang said Washington should not "repay kindness with resentment, let alone impose arbitrary tariffs".

"There are around 190 countries in the world," he said. "Imagine if every country emphasised their own priority and believed in strength and status, the world would fall back into the law of the jungle.

“Small and weak countries will get burnt first, and the international order and rules will be under severe shock.

“Major countries should undertake their international obligations… and not seek to profit from and bully the weak.”

He said the abuse of fentanyl in the US is a problem that must be confronted and resolved by the country itself.

On the development of AI in China and growing popularity of DeepSeek, the foreign minister said "high fences and small yards" cannot suppress the spirit of innovation.

"Where there is blockade, there is breakthrough; where there is suppression, there is innovation," he said.

Wang added that China and the US must co-exist peacefully, and mutual respect is key to bilateral ties. (Agencies)