China retaliates against US in trade war after Trump announced tariffs

China has retaliated against the US for imposing new tariffs of 10 percent on US$200 billion (AU$278 billion) Chinese products. In a tit-for-tat measure, the Asian giant will impose US$60 billion (AU$83.25 billion) of tariffs on US goods.

Beijing announced the new tariffs on Tuesday, saying the new levies will come into effect on Sep. 24. With the country increasing the cost of American goods for Chinese consumers, the demand for US products is expected to diminish. They will be levied at 5 and 10 percent.

“In order to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests and the global free trade order, China will have to take countermeasures,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. “We deeply regret this.”

The tariffs were in response to US President Donald Trump’s announcement that it would impose new tariffs on Chinese imports. Trump imposed the tariffs on Monday after claiming on Twitter that China “had openly stated” that it wanted to sway the US elections “by attacking our farmers, ranchers and industrial workers because of their loyalty to me.”

Beijing is open to a truce with Washington, though, should Trump reverse the sanctions before the new tariffs take effect on Sep. 24. If he didn’t, analysts told Washington Post that Chinese President Xi Jinping would unlikely to back down.

“China needs to show that it will stand up to Trump and the United States in order to demonstrate to the rest of the world that it is now America’s rival,” Shaun Rein, managing director at the China Market Research Group in Shanghai, said.