China will take targeted reciprocal measures against the United States to protect its interests, which may include slapping tariffs on US agricultural products, airplanes, automobiles and computer chips, a former minister said Wednesday morning.

Wei Jianguo, the country's former vice-minister of commerce, told China Daily such measures could be "beyond the expectations" of the Trump administration, responding to the announcement the United States Trade Representative proposed imposing tariffs on 1,300 China-made products worth around $50 billion under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 on Tuesday.

According to Wei, also vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, reciprocal measures adopted by China will be "at the same level and the same scale", compared with what the US side has proposed.

Wei said countermeasures China is working on will not be limited to the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, but can include tourism and other industries.

The proposed list published by the United States Trade Representative came after US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum in March to impose additional tariffs on approximately $50 billion worth of imports from China.