China slams Trump tariffs, urges equal-footed talks as markets plunge

China responded on Saturday to US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff hike by saying that “the market has spoken” in rejecting the move and urged Washington to engage in “equal-footed consultation” after global markets plunged in response to the escalating trade conflict.

State media outlet Xinhua echoed the government’s position, calling on the U.S. to “stop using tariffs as a weapon to suppress China’s economy and trade.” Meanwhile, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan told public broadcaster RTHK that the city would not introduce separate countermeasures, stressing the importance of maintaining its status as a “free and open” economy.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated the sentiment on Facebook, sharing an image of Friday’s sharp market downturns in the U.S. as he declared, “The market has spoken.”

Trump had earlier imposed an additional 34% tariff on Chinese goods, raising total duties on China this year to 54%, and closed a loophole that had allowed small-value Chinese packages to enter the U.S. duty-free. In retaliation, China imposed its own 34% tariffs on all U.S. goods and introduced export restrictions on certain rare earth materials, deepening the trade rift between the world’s two largest economies.

Global stock markets tumbled following China’s countermeasures and Trump’s refusal to reverse course. The sell-off extended earlier declines sparked by the initial tariff announcement, with the S&P 500 posting a 9% drop for the week — its worst performance since the pandemic began.

“Now is the time for the U.S. to stop doing the wrong things and resolve the differences with trading partners through equal-footed consultation,” Guo wrote in English on Facebook. In a separate statement published by state-run Xinhua news agency, the Chinese government urged the U.S.: “Stop using tariffs as a weapon to suppress China’s economy and trade, and stop undermining the legitimate development rights of the Chinese people.”

“China has taken and will continue to take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests,” said the government.

Washington “seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system, and seriously undermines the stability of the global economic order,” it added. Earlier on Saturday, several industry chambers of commerce ranging from those representing traders in metals and textiles to electronics, issued statements condemning the tariffs.

China’s chamber of commerce, representing traders in food products, called on “China’s food and agricultural products import and export industry to unite and strengthen cooperation to jointly explore domestic and foreign markets”.

Hong Kong’s Chan said it strongly opposes Trump’s actions and would continue to be “free and open”.“Allowing a free flow of capital and acting as a free port are our advantages, and this will not change,” Chan told public broadcaster RTHK.“The rules-based multilateral trading system is our core,” he said.

With inputs from agencies