China 'would fight to the end' in any U.S.-launched trade war: embassy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China is "strongly disappointed" in U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to launch trade sanctions against Beijing but will not recoil from a trade war with the United States, the Chinese embassy in Washington said on Thursday.

"If a trade war were initiated by the U.S., China would fight to the end to defend its own legitimate interests with all necessary measures," the embassy said in a statement.

Trump announced a consultation period for up to $60 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods and directed the U.S. Treasury Department to develop U.S. investment restrictions on China.

(Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Grant McCool)