2/28/2025–|Last update: 28/2/202510:49 PM (Mecca time)
Trade tensions between China and the United States escalated after US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of additional customs duties by 10% on Chinese imports from next March, prompting China to vow to take “all necessary counter measures” to protect its interests.
The Chinese Ministry of Trade announced in an official statement that “if the United States insists on proceeding in this direction, China will take all the counter -measures necessary to defend its legitimate rights and interests,” noting that the American measures “will increase the burden on American companies and consumers, and will be stabilized by the global industrial chain.”
The statement added that the American accusations that China is contributing to the Vintanel crisis in the United States “just an attempt to blame others”, stressing that “China has one of the most striking and comprehensive policies to combat drugs in the world”, and that it cooperates with the United States and other countries in this file.
Canada and Mexico
In addition to fees on China, Trump announced his intention to impose customs duties by 25% on Canadian and Mexican imports, before hanging his decision for a month, which is the period ending next Tuesday. In a post on social media, Trump stressed that the drawings will be applied as scheduled until “the problem of fentanel is stopped or limited to it seriously.”
On the other hand, Mexican President Claudia Xinbum stated that she hopes to speak to Trump to prevent the imposition of fees, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed that officials are working around the clock to avoid US measures, stressing that “less than 1% of fentanels and unregistered immigrants who enter the United States come across the Canadian border” according to the French News Agency.
Immediate economic repercussions
Trump and the Chinese response rapidly affected the global markets, as Asian markets recorded a remarkable decline, as the Chinese stock index listed in Hong Kong decreased by 3.9%, which is the largest daily decline since last October, while the Chinese CII 300 index fell 1.9%. The Chinese yuan also witnessed a slight decrease to 7.29 against the dollar.
“Trump may pressure too much,” said economist in Bloomberg Chang Show
Official responses
The Chinese leadership next week intends to hold meetings to develop plans to protect the country’s economy from the impact of American threats, amid expectations to declare incentive packages of a value ranging between 500 and 700 billion yuan (69-97 billion dollars) to support consumption and technological investment.
For its part, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the imposition of new customs duties “will seriously affect the dialogue” between the two countries on drug control, accusing Washington of practicing “extortion”. “Pressure, coercion and threats are not the right way to deal with China. Mutual respect is the basis,” said ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
Expanding the scope of definitions
In a related context, the Trump administration expanded its campaign against Beijing by imposing new restrictions on investment flows between the two countries, imposing proposed fees on Chinese ships that transport goods to the United States, and hold talks with Mexico to urge them to impose definitions on Chinese goods.
According to a report issued by the Congress Research Department last year, the fentian -heading to the United States is manufactured in Mexico using Chinese chemicals, indicating that American accusations may be based on more political motives than commercial.
As the new drawings are approaching, the most important question remains: Will Washington and Beijing be able to reach an agreement that prevents the crisis from escalating? Or are we facing a new chapter of the trade war between the two largest economic powers in the world? In light of the current ambiguity, the world is awaiting the repercussions of this confrontation on the entire global economy.
