Economic tensions between the U.S. and China are soaring after President Trump raised tariffs on Chinese products to 125 percent on Wednesday and China retaliated by raising tariffs on U.S. exports to 84 percent.

While Trump on Wednesday paused his “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of other countries, he hit China harder, intensifying an economic battle between the two major powers.

Beyond the tariffs on Chinese goods themselves — which total 145 percent because of an earlier 20 percent tariff imposed by Trump — the trade dispute extends into multiple other areas of economic interaction between the U.S. and China.

These include U.S. companies being added to a Chinese blacklist, a deal for the sale of Chinese social media company TikTok being paused, Chinese importers opting for agricultural commodities produced in countries other than the U.S., Chinese currency devaluation and large-scale government subsidization of the private sector.

The war of words between the U.S. and China is reaching a fever pitch, and diplomats are spitting fire.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the tariffs are isolating the U.S. from the rest of the world, an accusation that the U.S. has levied against China for its own trade practices.

Yu Jin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, posted a clip of Trump in which the president says, “These countries are calling us up, kissing my ass. They are dying to make a deal.”

“Really???” she responded to the clip. “Which countries are they???”

U.S. officials........

© The Hill