Japan's  Nikkei Asian Review on August 9, 2018 said that the ruling party's annual conclave in Beidaihe, a seaside resort in Hebei Province, has begun. A short Xinhua News Agency article on August 4 said Vice Premier Hu Chunhwa was spotted in Beidaihe attending a symposium. Adding that the Beidaihe meeting takes place amid the trade war with the US, it said two days after returning from a 10-day tour of the Middle East and Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping convened a Politburo meeting to prepare for further escalations of the trade war. According to Xinhua, participants concluded that the external environment has "significantly changed" and the nation should roll out targeted measures to solve the problem. Meanwhile, following Trump raising the punitive tariff rate by 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese products, the US Department of Commerce made another announcement adding 44 military demand-related Chinese companies, including the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, or CASIC, to its export control list. This, more than the new tariff rate, is said to have triggered the Chinese stock tumble. In Beijing, a few hours later, China's Ministry of Commerce announced that it was preparing retaliatory import tariffs on $60 billion worth of American products, including liquefied natural gas. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking to Chinese media the next day, said, "If the U.S. attacks us, we will only fire back."

 

(Comment: To recap developments: March 22, 2018: President Trump released a list of $50 billion dollars worth of imports from China and announced new tariffs that would be implemented, having a dramatic impact on imports and exports between the U.S. and China; July 6, 2018: A 25% tariff on $34 Billion of Chinese goods began with another $16 billion dollar tariff to be implemented at a later date; July 10, 2018: The United States Trade Representative gave a list of $200 billion dollars of Chinese imports that will potentially face an additional 10% tariff; and August 1, 2018: President Trump proposed to have the 10% tariff on a list of $200 billion dollars of Chinese imports increased to 25%.)