On Saturday, China’s Foreign Ministry responded to the United States’ recent implementation of extensive new tariffs by stating that “the market has spoken.” The ministry urged the White House to engage in “equal-footed consultation” to alleviate the rising tensions in the ongoing trade war.
U.S. stock markets experienced a significant downturn for the second consecutive day on Friday, with all three major indexes suffering losses exceeding 5%, contributing to a wider global market decline.
The turbulence in the markets intensified on Friday following China’s Finance Ministry’s announcement of a 34% tariff on all U.S. imports set to take effect on April 10.
This retaliatory measure from Beijing heightened investor concerns about the potential for inflation, recession, and slowed global economic growth.
“The market has spoken,” stated Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a Facebook post on Saturday morning.
Accompanying a graphic that highlighted the downturn in U.S. stock markets on Friday, Guo asserted that the “trade and tariff war started by the U.S. against the world is unprovoked and unjustified.”
He reiterated the call for the U.S. to settle its differences with trade partners through equitable discussions.
In a separate development, U.S. President Donald Trump outlined extensive new tariffs earlier this week as part of a “reciprocal tariff” initiative. This includes a 10% tariff affecting nearly every country and much higher duties on several others.
Among the most affected, China is facing additional reciprocal tariffs of 34%, which raises the total U.S. tariffs on the Asian nation to 54%.
Despite the market’s adverse reaction to his tariff policies, Trump showed no signs of concern on Friday. He took to Truth Social to claim that “big business” remains unfazed by the tariffs and vowed that his “policies will never change.”
— Finance Newso’s Ruxandra Iordache contributed to this report.
