China vowed on Thursday to fight a trade war with the United States "to the end" as Washington's tariffs weighed on the global economy and threatened to crimp Beijing's slowing growth.

Beijing set an ambitious annual growth target of around 5% this week, pledging that domestic demand will be the main driver of the economy as an escalating trade standoff with the United States hurts exports.

US President Donald Trump imposed more sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports this week, following a similar move last month. The tariffs are expected to add hundreds of billions of dollars to total trade between the world’s two largest economies.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao warned that US tariffs threaten to "destabilize the global industrial supply chain and dampen global economic growth."

"If the United States continues on this wrong path, we will fight to the end," he said at a press conference, accusing Washington of "acting unilaterally and bullying."

China's chief economic planner, Zheng Shanjie, admitted that "the uncertainty in the external environment is getting more and more intense."

But he said China had "full confidence" in its ability to meet its growth target this year.

"We have the basic support and guarantee to achieve this year's growth target of around 5 percent," Cheng said, speaking alongside Wang on the sidelines of annual political meetings in Beijing.

"We also face some problems, such as insufficient domestic demand and production and operating difficulties in some industries and companies," he added.

"However, we feel that these difficulties and challenges... can be overcome and resolved," he continued.

China's key growth figures, announced by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday at the Communist Party's annual meeting, were largely in line with a poll of analysts.

But experts say it is ambitious given the scale of China's economic challenges, and they hope officials will announce more economic support this week.

The country will cut interest rates further this year "as appropriate, in light of domestic and international economic and financial conditions," central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said Thursday.

Beijing's central bank cut two key interest rates to historic lows in October.

Finance Minister Lan Fu'an pledged on Thursday to "continue to increase" fiscal spending in 2025, saying it would promote "sustainable and healthy development of the economy and society" in China.

China has been seeking to regain its position since the Corona pandemic, with domestic consumption continuing to decline and the ongoing debt crisis in the huge real estate sector.

Trump's latest round of tariffs has exacerbated the challenges.

Beijing announced on Tuesday that it would take measures in response to the recent increase in customs duties imposed by Washington, and pledged that it would fight a trade war until the "end."

Through these measures, China will impose tariffs of up to 15% on a range of American agricultural products, including soybeans, pork and wheat, starting early next week.