Beijing said it was “strongly dissatisfied” with President Donald Trump’s move to raise tariffs on Chinese goods and said it would “take countermeasures.”

"China will fight to the bitter end of any trade war," the foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing declared, after China announced tit-for-tat tariffs on agricultural imports from the US. This came within minutes of a new 10% US levy on Chinese imports that came into effect on Tuesday - which adds to existing tariffs both from Trump's first term and those announced last month.