China critiques US reciprocal tariffs, vows to take "resolute counter-measures"

The ministry further urged Washington to cancel the unilateral tariff measures.

"There is no winner in a trade war, and protectionism leads nowhere. China urges the US to immediately remove unilateral tariffs and resolve differences with trade partners through dialogue," a ministry spokesperson said as cited in the Chinese State-owned Global Times.

Amid worldwide criticism, Trump declared a national economic emergency and announced tariffs of at least 10 per cent across all countries, with rates even higher for 60 countries.

"China urges the United States to immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and properly resolve differences with its trading partners through equal dialogue," CNN quoted the spokesperson as saying.

The tariff plan imposed high levies on many countries, including 26 per cent on India, 49 per cent on Cambodia, 46 per cent on Vietnam, 34 per cent on China, 24 per cent tariff on Japan, 20 per cent on the EU, US media reported, noting that more than 180 countries and regions will face tariffs.

The US claims that it has suffered losses in international trade and is using so-called "reciprocity" as a justification to raise tariffs on all its trading partners. This approach disregards the balance of interests achieved through years of multilateral trade negotiations and ignores the fact that the US has long reaped substantial benefits from international trade, the Chinese commerce ministry (MOFCOM) spokesperson said, Global Times reported.

"The so-called 'reciprocal tariffs,' determined based on unilateral and subjective assessments, violate international trade rules, severely undermine the legitimate rights and interests of relevant parties, and represent a typical act of unilateral bullying. Many trading partners have already expressed strong dissatisfaction and clear opposition to this move," the spokesperson said.

History has proven that raising tariffs does not solve US' own problems -- it harms US interests while also threatening global economic growth and the stability of industrial and supply chains, the Chinese spokesperson was cited as saying in the Global Times.

Trump's announcement adds 34 per cent "reciprocal" tariffs to existing 20 per cent duties on all Chinese imports to the US. Since returning to power in January, Trump had already levied two tranches of 10 per cent additional levies on all Chinese imports, which the White House said was necessary to stem the flow of illicit fentanyl from the country to the US as per a report in the CNN.

Trump in his announcement as part of his 'Liberation Day' economic plan said, "I have great respect for President Xi (Jinping) of China, great respect for China, but they were taking tremendous advantage of us." "They understand exactly what's happening and ... they're going to fight." he further said in his address announcing the tarriffs.

Reciprocal tariffs have been announced on India, Brazil, Japan, and the European Union among others. (ANI)