China blasts U.S. upping ante in possible trade war

BEIJING -- China slammed the latest U.S. tariff threat as a "totally unacceptable" escalation of their trade battle and vowed Wednesday to protect its "core interests." The Commerce Ministry gave no details of possible retaliation but Beijing earlier threatened "comprehensive measures." That prompted fears it might go beyond matching Washington's duty increases by disrupting operations for U.S. companies in China.The spiraling conflict over U.S. complaints about Chinese technology policy has pro