China dismisses U.S. tariffs as ‘numbers game’, warns of no impact

China dismisses U.S. tariffs as meaningless, vows to ignore.

China’s foreign ministry has sharply criticised Washington’s escalating tariff measures, dismissing them as economically meaningless and vowing to ignore future provocations. The response came after the White House said China now faces tariffs of up to 245% on imports to the United States.

“The US’s extortionate tariff hikes on China have become a numbers game, which economically does not make much actual difference anymore, except further demonstrating how the U.S. weaponizes tariffs to coerce and bully others,” said a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry on Thursday.

“China does not want to fight those wars, but neither are we afraid of them. If the U.S. continues to play this numbers game with tariffs, it will simply be ignored,” the spokesperson added.

The #USs extortionate #tariff hikes on #China have become a numbers game, which economically does not make much actual difference anymore, except further demonstrating how the U.S. weaponizes tariff to coerce and bully others.#China does not want to fight those wars but pic.twitter.com/zvmbpGUGXK Chinese Embassy in US (@ChineseEmbinUS) April 17, 2025

The White House had issued a fact sheet outlining the composition of the 245% figure, including a reciprocal tariff of 125%, a 20% levy tied to the fentanyl crisis, and various additional duties ranging from 7.5% to 100% aimed at addressing what it calls unfair trade practices.

According to Bloomberg, the Trump administration confirmed on Wednesday that the baseline tariff rate on Chinese goods entering the U.S. remains at 145%.

President Donald Trump had previously announced sweeping new tariffs on all countries but later rolled back many of those hikes, except for China, which remains subject to the most punitive measures.

Beijing has signalled it will not be drawn into further escalation.