China hiked retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods Friday to 125% from 84% after President Donald Trump recently raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 125%.
According to CNBC News, the Chinese Finance Ministry said if the U.S. continues to raise tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense.
“Even if the U.S. continues to impose higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense and will become a joke in the history of world economy,” the ministry said in a statement.
“With tariff rates at the current level, there is no longer a market for U.S. goods imported into China,” the statement said, adding “if the U.S. government continues to increase tariffs on China, Beijing will ignore.”
Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management said the move spells the end to the tariff escalation as both countries have sent each other clear messages.
“This is the end of the escalation in terms of bilateral tariff rates. Both China and the US have sent clear messages, there is no point of raising tariffs further,” Zhang said.
Zhang noted that the step would be evaluating economic damage to both the U.S. and China but added that currently there are no signs either country will relent.
A spokesperson from China’s Commerce Ministry said in a separate statement Friday that China is willing to negotiate from the U.S. if it is on equal footing.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on Wednesday that China doesn’t want to negotiate, after Beijing raised tariffs to 84%.
“It’s unfortunate that the Chinese actually don’t want to come and negotiate, because they are the worst offenders in the international trading system,” Bessent said. “They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world, and I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them.”
When asked about the tariffs on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said there are no winners.
“China has repeatedly stated its solemn position on the tariff issue,” Lin said. “Tariff and trade wars have no winner. China does not want to fight these wars but is not scared of them. Let me stress that if the U.S. truly wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop maximum pressure and capricious and destructive behavior.”
“This never works with China,” Lin added. “For any dialogue to happen, they must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit. If the U.S. is determined to fight a tariff and trade war, China’s response will continue to the end.”
Lin added that China is “responsible” and has taken measures against the “bullying” tactics of the U.S.
“China is a responsible country,” Lin said. “We’ve taken countermeasures against the bullying behavior of the U.S., not only to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests, but also to uphold international rules and order, the common interests of countries in the world, and international fairness and justice. In the face of U.S. hegemony and bullying, remember this: give the bully an inch, he will take a mile.”
