China officially began implementing its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods on Thursday, imposing an additional 84% duty on imports from the United States. This move follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of plans to raise tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%, further escalating trade tensions between the two nations.
In response, Chinese officials condemned Washington’s actions, labeling them as “blackmail” and vowing to resist pressure in the ongoing trade dispute. Beijing also urged the U.S. to reverse its unilateral measures and engage in dialogue based on mutual respect.
Amid this intensifying trade conflict, China is seeking to strengthen ties with other global partners as it navigates the economic fallout of its standoff with the U.S.
On Tuesday, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao had a phone call with EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič to discuss issues including enhancing China-EU economic ties.
According to a Chinese statement, Wang criticised the U.S. tariff strategy as harmful to global trade and urged cooperation to uphold the rules-based multilateral system.
It added that China and the EU agreed to start talks on market access and improving the business environment for companies.
China has remained one of the EU’s most important trading partners.
In 2024, it was the bloc’s third-largest export destination and its top source of imports.
However, the EU continued to run a significant trade deficit with China, which last year stood at around 300 billion euros (329 billion dollars).
Meanwhile, tariffs for some other countries have been temporarily suspended.
So far, Beijing has not responded to the latest U.S. measures. (dpa/NAN
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