Trade war escalates: China hits back after trump’s 145% tariff move

In a sharp escalation of the trade conflict with Washington, China announced on Friday it will raise tariffs on US imports from 84% to 125%, effective Saturday. The decision came just hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the European Union to join Beijing in resisting what he described as “unilateral bullying” — a reference to the steep tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

This latest move comes in response to Trump’s decision earlier this week to increase tariffs on Chinese goods to a staggering 145%, intensifying the long-standing economic standoff between the world’s two largest economies.

China’s Ministry of Finance, in a strongly worded statement, said the US had turned the tariff battle into a “numbers game” devoid of economic rationale.

Beijing placed full blame on Washington for triggering global market instability and undermining multilateral trade systems. The Commerce Ministry accused the Trump administration of creating “serious shocks and severe turbulence” in the global economy.

In a further twist, China claimed that US President Trump decided to pause tariffs on other countries partly due to pressure from Beijing. The US had announced a 90-day freeze on tariffs for all countries except China, just before increasing tariffs on Chinese imports, citing “a lack of respect” from Beijing.

Earlier in the week, China had already raised tariffs from 34% to 84% in response to Washington’s previous hike to 104%.

Meanwhile, during a diplomatic meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Beijing, President Xi emphasized that trade wars yield no winners.