China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests should the United States escalate its tariff measures, the country's commerce ministry said Tuesday.

The comments were made by a

spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce after the United States threatened to impose an additional 50-percent tariff on Chinese imports, to which the spokesperson said that China firmly opposes.

"China will fight till the end if the U.S. side is bent on going down the wrong path," the spokesperson noted.