China vows to ‘fight till the end’ over Trump’s tariff threat

China has sharply rejected US President Donald Trump's latest threat to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on Chinese imports, vowing to retaliate and “fight till the end” if Washington escalates its trade pressure.

In a statement carried by state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday, China’s Commerce Ministry condemned the proposed tariff hike, calling it “unilateral bullying” and a blatant act of economic coercion.

“China will fight till the end if the US side is determined to continue on this wrong path,” the ministry said, accusing Washington of “blackmail” and asserting that Beijing’s countermeasures are legitimate and necessary to defend national sovereignty and maintain a stable global trade order.

Trump issued the new threat on Monday via his Truth Social platform, warning that China—and any nation that dares retaliate—would face even steeper penalties. The former president's latest proposal would add to the 34 percent tariffs imposed last week, which Beijing responded to with matching levies on American goods.

In addition to the reciprocal tariffs, Trump has already enacted a 20 percent levy on Chinese products and imposed similar measures on other countries, sparking what economists now describe as a full-blown global trade war.

Financial markets have felt the impact. Over  USD 10 trillion has been wiped off global equities, with Bitcoin dipping below USD 75,000 for the first time in months and altcoins losing over 15 percent in value. JPMorgan has raised its projection of a global recession to 60 percent by year-end.

Trump has defended the sweeping tariffs—ranging between 10 percent and 50 percent—as part of a broader strategy to reduce the US trade deficit. “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he said, promising a resurgence of American jobs and industry.

Beijing, however, remains firm in its stance. “The US's so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ are baseless and unjust,” said a Commerce Ministry spokesperson. “China will never accept economic intimidation.”

As both sides dig in, fears grow that the dispute could spiral into a prolonged economic standoff with global consequences.