China officially implemented its planned retaliatory tariffs on US goods on Thursday, imposing an additional 84% duty on imports from the United States.
The move comes after Washington escalated its trade pressure, with US President Donald Trump announcing on Wednesday a new plan to raise tariffs on Chinese imports even further — to 125%. At the same time, tariffs for some other countries have been temporarily suspended.
So far, Beijing has not responded to the latest US measures.
Chinese officials have rejected the US approach, accusing Washington of blackmail and pledging to resist pressure in the ongoing trade dispute.
Trump said China lacks “respect” for global markets.
As tensions rise with the US, China is reaching out to other partners.
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 criticized the US 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 remains 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 continues to run a significant trade deficit with China, which last year stood at around €300 billion ($329 billion).