How the China-US relationship unravelledpublished at 08:39 British Summer Time
Chinese officials have consistently used strong language to
describe their opposition to Donald Trump’s new tariffs, which have escalated
astronomically for Beijing.
When the US president first announced his sweeping global
import tax scheme, China’s rate sat at 34% – high, but certainly not the worst
hit country.
Beijing retaliated with a 34% tariff on American goods,
which kicked off a tit-for-tat trade war. The US responded by upping their tariffs to a
total of 104%, so China raised theirs to 84%. The US responded again, and as it
stands, current US tariffs on Chinese goods are at 125%.
But US tariffs on Beijing could yet rise further, going up to
145% for some products due to a pre-existing levy imposed on companies which
produce fentanyl.
The latest raise, which came from Beijing on Wednesday, was
accompanied by comments from China’s finance ministry, which described the
White House’s actions as “trade tyranny” in state media.
Beijing “firmly opposes and will never accept such
hegemonic and bullying practices”, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian
told reporters.
The commerce ministry had previously labelled the US’s
additional levy as “a mistake on top of a mistake” saying it will
never accept the “blackmail nature” of the US.
For his part, the US president has accused China of a lack
of respect and of “ripping off” the US.