China has turned up the heat in its trade battle with the United States and is now warning other countries to stay out of it — or face consequences.
The back-and-forth between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping has been going on for a while. It all started when Trump hit several countries, including China, with new tariffs taxes on imported goods in early April. At first, Chinese goods coming into the U.S. were taxed at 20%, but that was quickly raised to a total of 54% on what the U.S. called “Liberation Day.”
China didn’t take this lightly. They responded by filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization and slapping their own tariffs on American products: 15% on things like farm produce, 10% on crude oil and farm equipment, and 34% on all U.S. imports.
Not backing down, Trump fired back with an even bigger tariff 84% on Chinese goods pushing the total taxes on Chinese imports even higher, to 104%. China answered that with an 84% tariff of their own on American goods.
This back-and-forth continued to escalate. Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, then to a massive 245%, though he paused new tariffs on other countries for three months. Meanwhile, China pushed its tariffs on U.S. products to 125% and cut down exports of rare earth minerals, which are important for making electronics.
Now, things are getting even more tense. China is warning that any country making trade deals with the U.S. — especially Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea — could be punished too. The Chinese government made it clear that they will respond strongly and equally to any country that sides with the U.S. and harms China’s interests.
They said making a deal with the U.S. while hurting China is like trying to skin a tiger — dangerous and doomed to fail. They added that in a world where the strong bully the weak, eventually everyone suffers.
Despite all this, Trump has hinted that a big agreement might still be possible between the U.S. and China. But that optimism isn’t shared by everyone. China’s state-run newspaper published a harsh article criticizing the U.S., saying America isn’t being taken advantage of — it’s just spending more than it earns, borrowing money, and living beyond its means.
The article said the U.S. has been benefiting from globalization without giving much back, and accused it of playing the victim in global trade. The message was clear: if the U.S. really wants a fair trading system, it should stop complaining and start working with others through international rules.
So far, there’s no sign that either side is ready to back down.
