‘Bullying’: China will pay no attention to ‘tariff game’ as it faces 245% on exports to US

If the United States continues to play the "tariff numbers game", China will pay no attention to it, China's foreign ministry said on Thursday. The comment came in response to the White House stating that China faces tariffs of up to 245% on imports to the United States due to its retaliatory action.

According to Chinese state media Global Times, China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the excessively high tariffs on China have degenerated into a “numbers game,” which no longer has any practical economic significance.

“It only further exposes the US tricks of using tariffs as a tool and weapon for bullying and coercion,” the ministry reportedly said.

The ministry said tariff and trade wars have no winner.

"China does not want to fight these wars but is not afraid of them. If the US continues its tariff "numbers game", China will ignore it," it added.

"If the US insists on continuing to substantively infringe upon China’s rights and interests, China’s response will continue to the end," the ministry said.

China faces 245% tariffs

The White House outlined on Wednesday how China faces tariffs of up to 245% on imports to the United States due to its retaliatory actions.

In a fact sheet released on Tuesday, the White House said China's total duties include the latest reciprocal tariff of 125%, a 20% tariff to address the fentanyl crisis, and tariffs of between 7.5% and 100% on specific goods to address unfair trade practices.

The Trump administration confirmed Wednesday morning the baseline tariff rate on Chinese imports to the US remains at 145%, Bloomberg reported.

US President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on all countries two weeks ago before suddenly rolling back higher "reciprocal tariffs" for dozens of countries while keeping punishing duties on China.

China retaliates

China raised its own tariffs on US goods in response and has not sought talks, stating that discussions can only take place based on mutual respect and equality.

Last week, China filed a new complaint with the World Trade Organization, expressing "grave concern" over US tariffs and accusing Washington of violating the global trade body's rules.

This week, China unexpectedly appointed a new trade negotiator who would be key in any talks to resolve the escalating tariff war, replacing trade tsar Wang Shouwen with Li Chenggang, its envoy to the WTO, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Washington said Trump was open to making a trade deal with China, but Beijing should make the first move, insisting that China needed "our money".