China\u2019s President Xi Jinping urged the European Union on Friday to join hands with Beijing in resisting \u201cunilateral bullying\u201d, after US President Donald Trump\u2019s tariff onslaught sparked mayhem on world markets. After equities crumpled and bond markets starting flashing red, Trump this week blinked first in his push to remodel the post-war system of global commerce and froze many tariffs for 90 days. But he raised them for China to a staggering total of 145 per cent, escalating a trade war between the world\u2019s two top economies and snuffing out a brief rally on financial markets. As the dollar weakened as well, Trump acknowledged \u201ca transition cost and transition problems,\u201d but dismissed global market turmoil. \u201cIn the end it\u2019s going to be a beautiful thing.\u201d He described the European Union as \u201cvery smart\u201d to refrain from retaliatory levies. But the bloc\u2019s chief warned that it still has \u201cwide range of countermeasures\u201d at the ready. \u201c[The EU] were ready to announce retaliation. And then they heard about what we did with respect to China,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWith the European Commission, we must show ourselves as strong: Europe must continue to work on all the necessary counter-measures,\u201d he said on X. At talks with Spain\u2019s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez today, state media quoted Xi as saying that China and the EU should simply team up on the issue. \u201cChina and Europe should fulfil their international responsibilities\u2026 and jointly resist unilateral bullying practices,\u201d Xi said. This, he stressed, would not only \u201csafeguard their own legitimate rights and interests, but also\u2026 safeguard international fairness and justice.\u201d \u2018No winners\u2019 After new falls on Wall Street, Asian markets were under pressure again on Friday. Tokyo sank more than four per cent \u2014 a day after surging more than 9pc \u2014 while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore and others also sagged. Oil and the dollar slid on fears of a global slowdown while gold hit a new record above $3,200, as investors spooked by Trump\u2019s erratic policies dumped normally rock-solid US Treasuries. \u201cThe sugar high from Trump\u2019s tariff pause is fading fast,\u201d said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. \u201cBottom line: the world\u2019s two largest economies are in a full-blown trade war \u2014 and there are no winners.\u201d \u2018Golden Age\u2019 Trump says he wants to reorder the world economy by forcing manufacturers to base themselves in the United States and for countries to lower barriers to US goods. Critics say Trump\u2019s policies are causing chaos for companies that rely on complex supply chains, alienating close allies and making goods more expensive for US consumers. Howard Lutnick, his commerce secretary, posted on social media Thursday that \u201cthe Golden Age is coming. We are committed to protecting our interests, engaging in global negotiations and exploding our economy.\u201d The EU welcomed the US president\u2019s partial row-back and proffered its own olive branch, suspending for 90 days tariffs teed up on 20 billion euros\u2019 ($22.4 billion) worth of US goods. But the 27-nation bloc\u2019s chief Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times that it remained armed with a \u201cwide range of countermeasures\u201d if negotiations with Trump hit the skids. \u201cAn example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services\u201d applying across the bloc, she said. Trump likewise warned that the tariffs could come back after the 90 days. \u201cIf we can\u2019t make the deal we want to make\u2026 then we\u2019d go back to where we were,\u201d he said. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump\u2019s reversal a \u201cwelcome reprieve\u201d and said Ottawa would begin negotiations with Washington on a new economic deal after elections on April 28. Vietnam said it had agreed with the United States to start trade talks, while Pakistan is sending a delegation to Washington. As China battles to find allies against Trump\u2019s trade war, Xi will travel next week to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, where the tariff drama is expected to feature high on the agenda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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