US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated on Wednesday that Beijing might be "intentionally" inundating the United States with the synthetic opioid fentanyl, resembling a "reverse" scenario of the Opium Wars in the mid-1800s that weakened China's global position,

Beijing accused the United States on Friday of exerting "tariff pressure and blackmail" after President Donald Trump's latest threat to slap an extra duty of 10% on imports from China, citing a continued flow of fentanyl into the country.

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China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized the U.S. for using the fentanyl issue as a pretext to threaten China. Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also noted that there are no winners in trade and tariff wars.

China’s officials condemned President Trump for his decision to add a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports over the country’s alleged complicity in the international smuggling of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic drug.

Trump's new tariff threat are of fresh tariffs which come in addition to the previous 10 per cent one levied on February 4.