China Brushes Off US Tariff Threats, Warns Against 'Numbers Game'

China has brushed off fresh tariff warnings from the United States, declaring it will not engage in what it called a "tariff numbers game," according to a Reuters report on Thursday.

The response came after the White House announced that Chinese goods could be hit with tariffs as high as 245% due to Beijing's retaliatory measures. The sharp escalation in the ongoing trade conflict stems from new duties imposed by the Trump administration on a wide range of Chinese imports.

Details of the latest tariff policy were outlined in a fact sheet released by the White House late Tuesday. It claimed that over 75 countries had expressed interest in forming new trade partnerships with the US. As a result, elevated tariffs had been temporarily paused for many nations-except China, which, the administration claimed, opted for retaliation.

"As a result of its retaliatory actions, China now faces up to a 245% tariff on its exports to the United States," the statement noted, without elaborating on the breakdown of the new duties.

The White House also accused China of weaponizing its exports of high-tech and critical materials, highlighting recent restrictions on gallium, germanium, antimony, and other rare earth elements with strategic value.

"Just this week, China halted the export of six heavy rare earth metals and rare earth magnets," the fact sheet stated. "These components are crucial to industries such as automotive, aerospace, semiconductors, and military manufacturing."

In a counter-move last week, China raised additional tariffs on American imports to as much as 125%, responding to the US's 145% tariffs on Chinese goods. China has also lodged a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization, accusing the US of undermining the global trading system.

Beijing criticised the US measures as harmful to international cooperation, saying such actions "run counter to global consensus" and risk severely damaging the multilateral trading framework.