China has indicated that it is willing to fight "any type of war" with the United States following the Trump administration's latest round of high tariffs on imports, prompting concerns and memes about a potential world war.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that all imports from China will face 20% tariffs. He cited the country's alleged role in the trade of fentanyl as the reason behind the tariffs.
He has imposed similar tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which were met with criticism from government officials in both countries. China, meanwhile, has gone a step further and indicated that it is willing to fight the U.S. over the tariffs.
"If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end," the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. wrote in a tweet earlier this week.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson added that "the fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports." The spokesperson also accused the U.S. of being solely responsible for its domestic fentanyl crisis.
China retaliated against the tariffs by imposing tariffs of up to 15% on U.S. goods, including agricultural products, the largest U.S. exports to the country. China previously raised duties on U.S. energy imports after Trump's initial round of tariffs last month.
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao added that "coercion and threats will not work on China, nor will they scare China." He said there "are no winners in a trade war."
On the heels of Trump's disastrous meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, China's comments prompted a wide range of reactions from users on social media.
Some joked that they were willing to change sides if they were to get drafted in combat, while others found the casual "any other type of war" part of the quote particularly amusing. China wants the smoke, but it appears most Americans really don't.
Check out some of the reactions below.