China Slams Trump’s 50% Tariff Threat as “Mistake Upon a Mistake,” Vows to Fight Back
In a sharp escalation of the ongoing trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies, China has strongly condemned US President Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose additional 50% tariffs on Chinese imports. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce, responding on Monday, termed the move “a mistake on top of a mistake,” and vowed to resist what it described as Washington’s blackmailing tactics.
“The US threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the US’s blackmailing nature. China will never accept this,” said a spokesperson for China’s commerce ministry, as reported by AFP.
Trump, who has often adopted a combative stance on trade with Beijing, last week proposed sweeping new tariffs that would raise the total levy on Chinese imports to more than 54%, including the already existing duties. He set a deadline of April 8 for China to reverse its recently announced 34% tariff on US imports, failing which the new US tariffs would come into force from April 9.
In retaliation, Beijing imposed its own 34% baseline tariffs on a broad range of American imports and has signalled further countermeasures.
The rising friction has sparked concerns among economists and global markets over the risk of a renewed trade war that could rattle an already fragile global economy. “Trump’s tariff threats risk igniting another round of tit-for-tat economic conflict that could destabilize supply chains and slow down global growth,” warned a trade policy expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
A strongly-worded editorial in People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, dismissed the impact of US measures. “US tariffs will have an impact (on China), but ‘the sky won’t fall’… Since the US initiated the first trade war in 2017, we have continued to develop and progress,” the commentary stated, adding that the country has grown more resilient under pressure.
China’s foreign ministry also reaffirmed its long-term economic stance, stating, “As the world’s second-largest economy and the second-largest consumer market, China will only continue to open its doors wider, regardless of the changing international landscape.”
The renewed tariff threats come at a time when both nations are already navigating strained diplomatic relations on multiple fronts, including tech restrictions, military posturing in the Indo-Pacific, and competing global influence.
