China has vowed to fight U.S. tariffs “to the end”, following President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a new round of duties—potentially raising tariffs to 50% on imports from the world’s second-largest economy.
In a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for China’s commerce ministry said:
“The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, once again revealing its blackmailing nature.”
Beijing has declared it will not yield to “blackmail” if President Trump follows through on his threat to impose an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports starting Wednesday.
In a sharp response, Trump has called on China to abandon its planned 34% retaliatory tariff on all U.S. imports, which is set to take effect Friday. That move was in response to the 34% tariff announced by the U.S. on “liberation day” last week.
If implemented, these measures would leave Chinese exports facing total U.S. tariffs of up to 104%, deepening the trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies.
A spokesperson for China’s commerce ministry condemned Washington’s approach, stating:
“The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, once again exposing the American side’s blackmailing nature. If the U.S. insists on going its own way, China will fight to the end.”
Despite the escalating tensions, Asian stock markets showed mixed reactions following a recent bout of heavy selling. Japan’s Nikkei index rebounded 5.5% from a 1.5-year low, buoyed by news that President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had agreed to initiate trade talks during a phone call late Monday.
However, the recovery wasn’t uniform. Markets in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam continued to fall, weighed down by the growing threat of economic decoupling between China and the United States.
