BEIJING has increased tariffs on imports from the United States to 125 per cent, in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 per cent.
The announcement was made by China’s Ministry of Finance on Friday, 11 April, with officials stating this would be the last time China would match further U.S. tariff hikes.
“Even if the U.S. continues to impose even higher tariffs, it would no longer have any economic significance and would go down as a joke in the history of world economics,” the finance ministry statement added.
“If the U.S. continues to play a numbers game with tariffs, China will not respond,” it added, however, leaving the door open for Beijing to turn to other types of retaliation, and reiterating that China would fight the U.S. to the end,” the ministry said.
While China signalled it would stop matching further U.S. tariff increases, it hinted at the possibility of other forms of retaliation. The ministry stressed that China is ready to fight to the end, should tensions continue to escalate.
This latest move deepens the U.S.–China trade war, sparking more uncertainty in global supply chains. Markets continued to decline, with foreign leaders scrambling to respond to what many see as the most serious threat to global trade in decades.
Earlier in the week, Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause for countries that had not retaliated against U.S. tariffs, including Nigeria, but confirmed that China would not be spared, raising duties on Chinese imports to 145 per cent.
After days of vowing to stick to his hardline trade approach, Trump announced that all countries that hadn’t retaliated against United States tariffs would be granted a reprieve, facing only a flat 10 per cent United States tariff until July.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the decision, saying, “When you punch at the United States of America, President Trump is going to punch back harder.”
The announcement shook global markets. According to Reuters., U.S. stocks fell, the dollar weakened, and there was a sharp sell-off in government bonds.
Despite market instability, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed concerns, suggesting that new trade deals with other countries would soon restore confidence.
At the White House, President Trump struck a more optimistic tone, saying he hoped for a mutually beneficial deal with China.
“In a true sense, [President Xi] has been a friend of mine for a long time. I believe we’ll work out something very good for both countries,” he said.
In his first public response, Chinese President Xi Jinping criticised Trump’s tariffs during a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Beijing.
“There are no winners in a trade war,” Xi said, urging China and the European Union to work together against “unilateral acts of bullying.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s administration is working on “tailored deals” with key allies such as Japan and South Korea. Talks have already been scheduled with both countries, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to visit Washington next week.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has also set up a trade task force and is planning a visit to the U.S. soon.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.