Category: World News

China hit back at U.S. President Donald Trump singling out the world’s second-largest economy for tariffs of more than 100% by raising additional duties on American products to 84% on Wednesday, deepening the trade war between the two superpowers.

Beijing also imposed restrictions on 18 U.S. companies, mostly in defence-related industries, adding to the 60 or so American firms punished over Trump’s tariffs.

The move comes after Trump made good on his threat to impose an additional 50% tariff on China unless it withdrew its retaliatory levies on the United States, taking total new U.S. duties on Chinese goods this year to 104%.

Beijing announced in response it would also raise its levies on U.S. goods by 50%, adding to the 34% increase previously announced and due to be implemented on Thursday.

“The U.S. escalation of tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which seriously infringes of China’s legitimate rights and interests and seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system,” China’s finance ministry said in a statement.

Trump has imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of economies he accuses of “ripping off” the U.S. by selling goods into the world’s largest consumer economy while maintaining trade barriers that inhibit U.S. firms’ market access.

But he has singled out China for the most punishing taxes, setting the stage for a standoff between the world’s top two economies.

Earlier on Wednesday, China released a white paper on U.S.-China commercial ties in which it called the trade gap between the world’s top two economies “inevitable”.

“China does not deliberately pursue a trade surplus,” said the report, which was released by the State Council Information Office shortly after the higher U.S. tariffs took effect.

“The trade imbalance in goods between China and the U.S. is both an inevitable result of structural issues in the U.S. economy and a consequence of the comparative advantages and international division of labour between the two countries,” the report added.

TRADE SURPLUS

China’s trade surplus with the U.S. widened to $295.4 billion last year from $279.1 billion in 2023, according to U.S. Census data. The goods trade gap peaked in 2018 at $418 billion, the same year Trump, in his first term as president, imposed tariffs on Chinese outbound shipments.

The first U.S.-China trade war concluded with Beijing agreeing to a “Phase 1” trade deal with Washington in 2020 in which it agreed to increase purchases of U.S. exports by $200 billion over a two-year period.

Beijing failed to meet its targets when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, but said in its white paper that it had “scrupulously fulfilled its obligations” by taking steps to boost its purchases of U.S. goods and accused Washington of having reneged on the deal.

“The US has systematically escalated economic and other forms of pressure against China, the report said. “Concurrently, the U.S. has promoted false narratives related to human rights, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang and the pandemic.”

China also talked up its efforts to boost its trade in services with the U.S., economic activity that the Trump administration has not factored into its “reciprocal” duties.

“The U.S. stands as the largest source of China’s deficit in service trade, with the deficit generally exhibiting an upward trend,” the white paper said.

WAR OF ATTRITION

China is bracing for an economic war of attrition as it tries to court other markets in Asia, Europe and the world. But other countries have much smaller markets than America and are also taking a hit from the tariffs.

During Trump’s first term, China frustrated U.S. financial and professional services firms by holding up licence applications and carrying out office raids.

But Beijing cannot dip into the same playbook this time as it is trying to attract fresh foreign investment to bolster its economic recovery.

Still, Chinese policymakers are backing themselves to go toe-to-toe with the Trump administration a second time.

“If the U.S. insists on escalating trade restrictions, China has both the determination and the means to respond forcefully – and will do so,” a commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement accompanying the white paper’s launch.

“There are no winners in a trade war. China does not want one, but the government will never allow the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people to be harmed or taken away.”

Ordinary Chinese people have started to voice their concern.

“The situation has already reached a blatant financial and trade war on the global stage,” said Ling Wanhua, a 20-year-old Shanghai resident. “It’s already hard for college graduates to find jobs. If the overall environment gets worse, the employment situation for graduates will be even worse.”

Reuters reported China’s top leaders planned to convene a meeting as early as Wednesday to discuss measures to boost the economy and stabilise the capital markets.

“I think the 104% tariffs are kind of exaggerated,” said Wu Lina, a 68-year-old tourist holidaying in Shanghai. “This president, the way this country treats China, oh my God, it will definitely cause some harm.” Reuters

China vowed on Tuesday to “fight to the end” against U.S. tariffs as some citizens railed against President Donald Trump after he singled out Beijing for further levies, setting the stage for a standoff between the world’s two largest economies.

If Trump sticks to his plan for an additional 50% tariff on China unless it withdraws its retaliatory levies on the United States, total new U.S. duties on Chinese goods this year could rise to 104% by Wednesday.

With global supply chains in jeopardy, Beijing is under pressure to respond ahead of a meeting between President Xi Jinping and Spain’s prime minister and a tour of Southeast Asia.

But with Trump’s previous tariff increases already squeezing Chinese exporters’ margins to the point of suffocation, further hikes would only serve to underscore Washington’s appetite for brinkmanship and its desire to cut China out of the world’s biggest consumer market as a matter of principle, analysts say.

“The U.S. side’s threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, once again exposing the American side’s blackmailing nature,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.

“If the United States insists on having its way, China will fight to the end.”

Trump said he would impose the additional 50% duty on U.S. imports from China on Wednesday if Beijing did not withdraw the 34% tariffs it imposed on U.S. products last week.

The Chinese levies had come in response to “reciprocal” duties of 34% announced by Trump, on top of tariffs of 20% imposed earlier this year, lifting to 76% the average U.S. tariff on Chinese goods.

“If the tariffs keep going up and up, it becomes a battle of wills and principles rather than economics,” said Xu Tianchen, senior economist for China at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“Since China already faces a tariff rate in excess of 60%, it doesn’t matter if it goes up by 50% or 500%,” he added.

China has stepped up efforts to shield its economy from global market turmoil following Trump’s announcement.

Several state holding companies have committed to increase share investment, a slew of listed companies unveiled buybacks, and the central bank pledged liquidity support for fund Central Huijin after it intervened to support sinking stocks.

But there is no escaping the fact that Trump’s affinity for tariffs risks derailing China’s largely export-led economic recovery that followed the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, unless exporters can pivot quickly to other markets.

China’s foreign ministry also called out the United States for a lack of sincerity regarding serious dialogue.

“If the United States truly wants to talk, it should adopt an attitude of equality, respect, and mutual benefit,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press conference on Tuesday.

The Chinese people “do not provoke trouble, nor are we afraid of it”, Lin said, warning that China will continue to take firm and strong measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

TARGETING CHINA

Trump’s tariffs will be felt particularly keenly as they target the two main strategies Chinese exporters have used to blunt the impact of the trade war: shifting some production abroad and boosting sales to non-U.S. markets.

Ordinary people have also started to voice opposition, accusing the tariff-touting president of wanting to suppress the United States’ rival.

“The tariffs on China were set too high, too high, and ordinary Chinese people just can’t accept that,” said Qi Xiushun, a 58-year-old resident of the commercial hub of Shanghai.

“(The tariffs) are suppressing China’s economic development – these tariffs were mainly pushed by Trump, right?”

Dan Wang, a China expert at Eurasia Group, said Trump had effectively already wiped out Chinese exporters’ profits once U.S. import duties passed the 35% mark.

“After that, China shouldn’t export to the U.S. at all. It could be 1,000%, but since there is no trade, there is no harm.”

“Europe is and will be the most profitable market for China now,” she added.

Xi is expected to meet Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday, with the agenda likely to cover finding a resolution to trade tension with Brussels over China’s electric vehicle exports, as well as Trump’s broader tariff onslaught.

The Chinese leader will then visit Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia, three economies that gained from relocation by Chinese manufacturers to avoid U.S. sanctions during Trump’s first term, but which now face steep levies of their own.

“I think (Trump’s) targeting us, targeting China,” said Wu Xing, a 34-year-old sales person, also from Shanghai, adding that she expected the tariffs would have a big impact on her.

“As for the United States, I think it’s targeting the whole world.”

Trump on Wednesday announced that China would be hit with a 34-percent tariff, on top of the 20 percent he imposed earlier this year, bringing the total new levies to 54 percent.

On Friday, China’s Ministry of Finance said the additional tariffs would be imposed from April 10. Beijing has previously imposed tariffs of 15 percent on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US in retaliation for Washington’s 10 percent levies on Chinese goods.

It also announced stiff export controls on key minerals and businesses, limiting what could be exchanged with the US.

“The purpose of the Chinese government’s implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

On Friday morning, Trump responded to the slate of retaliatory measures with a fiery social-media post written in all capital letters.

“CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!”, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Complaint with WTO

But China has pushed forward with countering Trump’s aggressive trade policies, saying it had opened a formal complaint against the new US tariffs with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Friday.

As part of its complaint, Beijing argued the measures violate WTO rules and requesting consultations.

“China has filed the WTO complaint with respect to the United States’ measures,” the Permanent Mission of China to the World Trade Organization said in a statement.

Beijing also imposed sweeping export controls to limit the exchange of goods and services with the US. Some pertained to the export of medium and heavy rare earths to the US, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium, effective from April 4.

Others took aim at US businesses. China added 16 US entities to its export control list, which bans the export of dual-use items to affected firms.

Another 11 US firms were included on the “unreliable entities” list, which allows Beijing to take punitive action against foreign entities. The targeted firms includes Skydio Inc and BRINC Drones over arms sales to democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the targeted companies seriously “undermined” China’s national sovereignty, security and development interests and would be banned from new investments, import and export activities in China.

Agriculture trade took a hit as well, as Chinese customs imposed an immediate suspension on imports of sorghums from grain exporter C&D (USA) Inc, as well as poultry and bonemeal from three US firms.

Then there were the threats of further regulatory action. Beijing announced it had launched an anti-dumping probe, looking into imports of certain medical CT tubes from the US and India.

It also said it would pursue a wider investigation into how the medical industry’s competitiveness was affected by imports of medical CT tubes.

How the economy is reacting

US stock futures fell sharply on Friday, signalling more losses on Wall Street, as the Trump administration’s sweeping levies knocked $2.4 trillion from US equities.

Shares of Big Tech stocks fell in premarket trading, with companies such as Apple and Nvidia having big exposure to China and Taiwan for manufacturing their products.

In Japan, a top US trading partner, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the tariffs had created a “national crisis”, as a plunge in banking shares on Friday set Tokyo’s stock market on course for its worst week in years. European shares were also headed for the biggest weekly loss in three years.

But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday disputed any economic crash, telling reporters that markets were reacting to the change and would adjust.

“Their economies are not crashing. Their markets are reacting to a dramatic change in the global order in terms of trade,” he said at a media conference in Brussels. “The markets will adjust.”

A British man in his 70s has died after being hit by a vehicle in Kenyan President William Ruto’s motorcade.

The victim was named by Kenyan police as 79-year-old Edgar Charles Frederick who died on Ngong Road in Nairobi on Thursday.

A police spokesperson said a pedestrian who was “a foreign national”, had died following an accident at Adams Arcade, which involved a government vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle was arrested and later released on bail.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said it was “supporting the family of a British man who died in Kenya and are in contact with the local authorities”, while a British High Commission spokesperson said it was liaising with officials.

Mr Ruto was heading for a public engagement on the fourth day of a tour of the city.

The driver involved in the incident did not stop after the accident for security reasons because the president’s car was close by, police told Kenyan newspaper The Star.

The failure to stop reportedly sparked anger from some Kenyans on social media, with questions raised about the speed the president’s motorcade was travelling.

Mr Frederick had been visiting Kenya to see his sister and nephew who are residents of the country, a police spokesman told the BBC.

His next-of-kin have been informed and a post-mortem examination was due to be held on Friday, the BBC reported. Sky News

• Additional 10% tariff comes into effect on all China exports to US
• Beijing slaps 15% levy on U.S. LNG, coal; 10% on crude, farm equipment
• China starts anti-monopoly investigation into Google, imposes controls on rare earth exports
• Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month
• Mexico, Canada to bolster border enforcement

China on Tuesday slapped tariffs on U.S. imports in a swift response to new U.S. duties on Chinese goods, renewing a trade war between the world’s top two economies even as President Donald Trump offered reprieves to Mexico and Canada.

Additional 10% tariff across all Chinese imports into the U.S. came into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday (0501 GMT) after Trump repeatedly warned Beijing it was not doing enough to halt the flow of illicit drugs into the United States.

Within minutes, China’s Finance Ministry said it would impose levies of 15% for U.S. coal and LNG and 10% for crude oil, farm equipment and some autos. The new tariffs on U.S. exports will start on Feb. 10, the ministry said.

China also said it was starting an anti-monopoly investigation in Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O)

Google, while including both PVH Corp, the holding company for brands including Calvin Klein, and U.S. biotechnology company Illumina on its “unreliable entities list”.

Separately, China’s Commerce Ministry and its Customs Administration said it is imposing export controls on tungsten, tellurium, ruthenium, molybdenum and ruthenium-related items to “safeguard national security interests”. China controls much of the world’s supply of such rare earths that are critical for the clean energy transition.

Trump on Monday suspended his threat of 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada at the last minute, agreeing to a 30-day pause in return for concessions on border and crime enforcement with the two neighbouring countries.

But there was no such reprieve for China, and a White House spokesperson said Trump would not be speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping until later in the week.

During his first term in 2018, Trump initiated a brutal two-year trade war with China over its massive U.S. trade surplus, with tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods upending global supply chains and damaging the world economy.

“The trade war is in the early stages so the likelihood of further tariffs is high,” Oxford Economics said in a note as it downgraded its China economic growth forecast.

Trump warned he might increase tariffs on China further unless Beijing stemmed the flow of fentanyl, a deadly opioid, into the United States.

“China hopefully is going to stop sending us fentanyl, and if they’re not, the tariffs are going to go substantially higher,” he said on Monday.

China has called fentanyl America’s problem and said it would challenge the tariffs at the World Trade Organization and take other countermeasures, but also left the door open for talks.

The U.S. is a relatively small source of crude oil for China, accounting for 1.7% of its imports last year, worth about $6 billion.

In 2019, Beijing slapped punitive tariffs on U.S. LNG, retaliating for Washington’s increase in tariffs on Chinese goods. The stakes are higher now, with China importing 4.16 million tons of U.S. LNG in 2024 worth $2.41 billion, nearly double 2018 volumes.

Stocks in Hong Kong pared gains after China’s retaliation, while the dollar strengthened and the Chinese yuan fell, dragging the Australian dollar lower.

“Unlike Canada and Mexico, it is clearly harder for the U.S. and China to agree on what Trump demands economically and politically. The previous market optimism on a quick deal still looks uncertain,” said Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis in Hong Kong.

“Even if the two countries can agree on some issues, it is possible to see tariffs being used as a recurrent tool, which can be a key source of market volatility this year.”

NEIGHBOURLY DEALS

There was relief in Ottawa and Mexico City after both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said they had agreed to bolster border enforcement efforts in response to Trump’s demand to crack down on immigration and drug smuggling. That would pause 25% tariffs due to take effect on Tuesday for 30 days.

Canada agreed to deploy new technology and personnel along its border with the United States and launch cooperative efforts to fight organized crime, fentanyl smuggling and money laundering.

Mexico agreed to reinforce its northern border with 10,000 National Guard members to stem the flow of illegal migration and drugs.

“As President, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of ALL Americans, and I am doing just that. I am very pleased with this initial outcome,” Trump said on social media.

Canadian industry groups, fearful of disrupted supply chains, welcomed the pause.

“That’s very encouraging news,” said Chris Davison, who heads a trade group of Canadian canola producers. “We have a highly integrated industry that benefits both countries.”

Trump suggested on Sunday the 27-nation European Union would be his next target, but did not say when.

EU leaders at an informal summit in Brussels on Monday said Europe would be prepared to fight back if the U.S. imposes tariffs, but also called for reason and negotiation. The U.S. is the EU’s largest trade and investment partner.

Trump hinted that Britain, which left the EU in 2020, might be spared tariffs.

Trump acknowledged over the weekend that his tariffs could cause some short-term pain for U.S. consumers, but says they are needed to curb immigration and narcotics trafficking and spur domestic industries. Reuters

A father has been found guilty of murdering his daughter after he stabbed her in the heart at their home in Darlington.

Simon Vickers, 50, was convicted of murder at Teesside Crown Court on Monday.

He gave different accounts of what happened in the seconds before he plunged a kitchen knife into his daughter Scarlett’s chest last July.

The 14-year-old died at the scene.

Prosecutors said the 11cm wound was too deep to have been caused accidentally, and the knife must have been “held firmly” at the time.

…More details later

Sky News