China calls US extortionate tariff hikes 'numbers game'

ISTANBUL

Denouncing the use of tariffs as a “weapon” to “coerce and bully others,” Beijing on Thursday said the latest 245% levies on the Chinese imports by the US have become a “numbers game.”

“You should probably ask the US side as to how they arrived at that figure,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement in response to the White House’s latest tariffs hike on Chinese imports.

“The US’ extortionate tariff hikes on China have become a numbers game, which economically does not make much actual difference anymore, except further demonstrating how the US weaponizes tariff to coerce and bully others," the ministry said.

The White House in a fact sheet Tuesday mentioned that Chinese imports face a maximum 245% tariffs, far beyond the 145% upper threshold previously reported. That figure included a 125% reciprocal tariff imposed by President Donald Trump this month, as well as an additional 20% fentanyl-related tariffs.

Beijing raised its tariffs on all US imports to 125% and said it will not make any further hikes since tariffs had made business tough between the world’s two top economies.

“Tariff and trade wars have no winners. China does not want to fight those wars but neither are we afraid of them," the ministry said.

"If the US continues to play this numbers game with tariffs, it will simply be ignored. But if the US continues to inflict actual damage on China’s rights and interests, China will respond with resolute countermeasures and will stand our ground to the end."

On Wednesday, China called on the US to stop its "maximum pressure" tactics and "blackmail" in trade negotiations, pushing back on US President Donald Trump's recent comments that "the ball is in China’s court."