China said it has room to ease borrowing costs and reserve rules for lenders if needed to defend its economy against US President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs.

The reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions and the central bank’s policy rates can be cut anytime going forward, People’s Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party, said in a front-page commentary published on Monday. “There is still room for further expansion of the fiscal deficit, special treasury bonds and special debts.”

On Friday, President Xi Jinping’s government announced it will impose a 34% tariff on all imports from the US starting April 10, matching the level of Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs on Chinese products. Authorities in Beijing announced several countermeasures, including immediately restricting exports of seven types of rare earths.

The official Xinhua News Agency said on Saturday that Beijing will continue to take “resolute measures” to safeguard its sovereignty, security and other interests. US tariffs announced last week will raise levies on nearly all Chinese products to at least 54%, potentially crippling exports to the US just as China’s economy is steadying at the start of 2025.