The Chinese move rattled global financial markets, triggering a sharp selloff in US government bonds, a slide in the dollar, and volatile swings in stock prices. The latest retaliatory measures from Beijing deepened investor anxiety already stoked by Trump’s surprise announcement of sweeping tariffs on dozens of US trade partners the previous week.
Though he rolled back some of those tariffs to 10 percent for a 90-day period on Wednesday, Trump increased levies on Chinese goods. “We are doing really well on our tariff policy,” he posted on Truth Social. “Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly.”
The White House later said Trump remained “optimistic” about reaching a deal with China. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that 15 other countries had offers “on the table” during the 90-day pause. She added, however, that “the president made it very clear, when the United States is punched he will punch back harder.”
The tit-for-tat tariff exchanges have intensified over the past week, with both Washington and Beijing issuing increasingly aggressive trade penalties.
In his first major response to the rising tensions, Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country was “not afraid,” according to state media. During a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Xi also urged the European Union and China to “jointly resist unilateral bullying practices.”
