China strikes back at US with tariff hike on goods worth $60bn

China has announced plans to impose tariffs on 60 billion dollars’ worth of US goods as of the beginning of next month, a retaliatory measure taken amid escalating trade war between the two sides in the aftermath of Washington’s move to tax almost all Chinese imports to the United States.

The Chinese Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday that Beijing would impose tariffs ranging from 5 to 25 percent on 5,140 American products on its billion-dollar target list.

The ministry said the tariffs would take effect on June 1.

The statement came shortly after US President Donald Trump warned China not to retaliate or otherwise the country would be “hurt very badly” if a deal to end the escalating trade war is not reached between Washington and Beijing.