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China hits back at the US as ‘largest trade war in economic history’ begins

CHINA immediately hit back after US tariffs on Chinese goods came into effect today sparking, what Beijing describe as, “the largest trade war in economic history.”

A 25 per cent levy on $34bn (£25.7bn) of Chinese goods imposed by US President Donald Trump was matched by similar Chinese tariffs on 545 US products in a retaliatory move.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang confirmed: “After the US activated its tariff measures against China, China’s measures against the US took effect immediately.”

Beijing stopped short of calling the measures a retaliation with Mr Trump threatening to increase tariffs to cover a wider range of Chinese goods.

A Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman said: “China promised not to fire the first shot, but in order to safeguard the country’s core interests as well as that of the people, it is forced to fight back.”

But Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that a trade war would not be in anyone’s interests.

He told a trade summit attended by the heads of government of Central and Eastern European Countries and China: “A trade war benefits no-one because it hurts free trade and the multilateral process.

“If a country wants to raise tariffs, China will respond to defend itself.”

European Union trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom warned that the tariffs would hurt the global economy.

“Worrying development with escalation of tariffs between US and China. Clearly damaging for the world economy. Trade wars are bad and not easy to win,” she tweeted.

Mr Trump has imposed tariffs on China in an attempt to encourage consumers to buy US goods and protect jobs.

He said this would also stop the “unfair transfers of American technology and intellectual property to China”

Further tariffs have been imposed — or threatened — on goods from Mexico, the EU and Canada as Mr Trump’s protectionist policies threaten to spark damaging trade wars.

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