China does not want a trade war with the United States, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui says.
Zhang made the statement on Sunday at a briefing ahead of China's annual session of parliament, which begins this week.
Trade tensions between the world's two largest economies have risen since Trump took office in 2017, and although China only accounts for a small fraction of US steel imports, its massive industry expansion has helped produce a global glut of steel that has driven down prices.
Negotiations and mutual opening of markets were the best ways to resolve trade frictions, Zhang said.
"China does not want to fight a trade war with the United States, but we absolutely will not sit by and watch as China's interests are damaged," Zhang, who is a spokesman for parliament and was formerly an ambassador to the United States, said.
"If policies are made on the basis of mistaken judgments or assumptions, it will damage bilateral relations and bring about consequences that neither country wants to see," he said.
Trump believes the tariffs will safeguard American jobs, but many economists say the impact of price increases for users of steel and aluminium, such as the auto and oil industries, will destroy more jobs than curbs on imports create.
Nonetheless, there is growing bipartisan consensus in Washington, and support within the US business community, for the US government to counter what are seen as Beijing's predatory industrial policies and market restrictions on foreign firms.
Trump has long sought a way to a more balanced trade relationship with China and is also considering potential trade sanctions against Beijing under a "Section 301" investigation into China's intellectual property practices and pressure on foreign companies for technology transfers.
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