China's new tariffs on US imports like oil, coal and cars are relatively modest in scale, suggesting that Beijing is hoping for a last-minute deal but also giving them the option to inflict more pain if needed, analysts say.

China on Tuesday fired a return salvo in its escalating trade war with the United States, slapping fresh tariffs on everything from American crude oil to agricultural machinery.

The moves hit roughly $20 billion worth of US goods per year -- roughly 12 percent of total American imports into China, according to calculations by Capital Economics.

Over a third of that is energy: according to Beijing customs data, imports of oil, coal and LNG totalled more than $7 billion last year.

Beijing has also slapped fresh export controls on rare metals and chemicals including tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, indium and molybdenum, used in everything from mining to phone screens.

China dominates global supply chains for rare metals.

The countermeasures........

© International Business Times