China’s Ministry of Commerce urged the U.S. to “immediately cancel” its unilateral tariff measures and vowed to take “resolute counter-measures” to safeguard its own rights and interests, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced what analysts described as the steepest tariff hikes in a century. “The U.S. has drawn the so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ based on subjective and unilateral assessments, which goes against international trade rules and seriously undermine the legitimate rights and interests of relevant parties,” a commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement, translated by CNBC. The Chinese official described the Trump administration’s decision to impose reciprocal tariffs as a “typical unilateral bullying practice,” adding that many countries have expressed “strong dissatisfaction and clear opposition.”

China on Thursday urged the United States to immediately cancel its latest tariffs and vowed countermeasures to safeguard its own interests, after President Donald Trump declared sweeping levies on U.S. trading partners around the world. The U.S. move disregards the balance of interests reached in multilateral trade negotiations over the years and the fact that it has long benefited greatly from international trade, China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement. "China firmly opposes this and will take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests," the ministry said, as the world's largest economies look set to spiral deeper into a trade war that stands to upend global supply chains. Trump on Wednesday announced China would be hit with a 34% tariff, on top of the 20% he previously imposed earlier this year, bringing the total new levies to 54% and close to the 60% figure he had threatened while on the campaign trail.

China vowed retaliation against U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs Thursday, as other countries across Asia desperately sought talks with Washington. The U.S. imposed tariffs on more than 180 countries this week, in what Mr. Trump described as retaliation for alleged currency manipulation and trade barriers against U.S. goods. Asian nations were among the worst hit, with several export-dependent countries suffering a potentially devastating blow and leaving governments reeling from the worse-than-expected measures. In particular, Mr. Trump’s new tariffs threaten to stymie growth in countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, which had benefited from a shift in recent years away from manufacturing in China, partly due to U.S. restrictions on Chinese exports introduced during the first Trump term.