Shipping containers are being loaded onto Xin Da Yang Zhou ship from Shanghai, China at Pier J at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, Cali<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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China warns\u00a0it would fight back \u201cat any cost\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

P<\/span>resident<\/strong> Donald Trump on Thursday directed U.S. trade officials to identify tariffs on $100 billion more Chinese imports, upping the ante in an already high-stakes trade confrontation between the world\u2019s two largest economies.<\/p>\n

The further tariffs were being considered \u201cin light of China\u2019s unfair retaliation\u201d against earlier U.S. trade actions, which included a proposed $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods, Trump said in a White House statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what a trade war looks like, and what we have warned against from the start,\u201d said National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are on a dangerous downward spiral and American families will be on the losing end,\u201d Shay added in a statement, urging Trump \u201cto stop playing a game of chicken with the U.S. economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Financial markets, roiled for days by the trade fight and Trump\u2019s management of it, whipsawed again on the new threat. After a bullish regular trading day, U.S. equity futures sold off sharply in after-market-hours trading.<\/p>\n

U.S. stock futures ESc1 slid 1 percent and the dollar dipped against other major currencies .DXY, while Asian shares flitted in and out of positive territory. Chinese markets were closed for a holiday.<\/p>\n

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Fight back \u201cat any cost\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

China warned on today it would fight back \u201cat any cost\u201d with fresh trade measures if the United States continues on its path of protectionism, hours after President Donald Trump threatened to slap an additional $100 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods.<\/p>\n

In light of China\u2019s \u201cunfair retaliation\u201d against earlier U.S. trade actions, Trump upped the ante on Thursday by ordering U.S. officials to identify extra tariffs, escalating a high stakes tit-for-tat confrontation with potentially damaging consequences for the world\u2019s two biggest economies.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, China unveiled a list of 106 U.S. goods – from soybeans and whiskey to frozen beef and aircraft – targeted for tariffs, in a swift retaliatory move only hours after the Trump administration proposed duties on some 1,300 Chinese industrial, technology, transport and medical products.<\/p>\n

Washington has called for the $50 billion in extra duties after it said a probe determined Chinese government policies are designed to transfer U.S. intellectual property to Chinese companies and allow them to seize leadership in key high-technology industries of the future.<\/p>\n

Responding to Trump\u2019s latest comments, the Chinese commerce ministry reiterated that China was not afraid of a trade war even though it did not seek one, and accused the United States of provoking the conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the United States disregards the objections of China and the international community and persists in unilateralism and trade protectionism, the Chinese side will follow through to the end, at any cost, and definitely fight back resolutely,\u201d a spokesperson was quoted as saying in a statement on the ministry\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

The ministry has called for a media briefing on Friday night, in an unusual move on a public holiday.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, Chinese state media had slammed Trump\u2019s threat of more trade action as \u201cridiculous\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis latest intimidation reflects the deep arrogance of some American elites in their attitude towards China,\u201d the state-run Global Times said in an editorial.<\/p>\n

While Beijing\u2019s claims that Washington is the aggressor and is spurring global protectionism, China\u2019s trading partners have complained for years that it abuses World Trade Organization rules and propagates unfair policies at home that lock foreign firms out of some sectors as domestic champions are being nurtured.<\/p>\n

China has repeatedly vowed that it would open up sectors such as financial services.<\/p>\n

President Xi Jinping next week is expected to unveil fresh measures on reform and his country\u2019s opening up at the high-profile Boao Forum, China\u2019s equivalent of Davos, in the southern island province of Hainan.<\/p>\n

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LINGERING CONCERNS<\/strong><\/p>\n

While China has projected an image of multilateralism and restraint amid the escalating trade dispute with the United States, Beijing has been swift to respond to Washington\u2019s rhetoric and actions.<\/p>\n

So far, U.S. information technology products from mobile phones to personal computers have largely escaped the ire of Beijing, as well as telecoms equipment and aircraft larger than the equivalent of a Boeing 737.<\/p>\n

Among the most affected by a trade war could be the U.S. technology sector, particularly chipmakers. The U.S. semiconductor sector relies on China for about a quarter of its revenue.<\/p>\n

It also remains to be seen if the trade dispute would trigger a nationalistic travel backlash. When ties between Beijing and Seoul chilled, Chinese tourism to South Korea plummeted and Made-in-South Korea products were shunned by consumers in China.<\/p>\n