China's consumer prices fell for the second straight month in March while factory-gate deflation worsened, as an escalating U.S. trade war heightened worries about mounting piles of unsold exports that could drive domestic prices even lower, Reuters reported. The world's second-largest economy has gotten off to a bumpy start this year. A nascent pick-up in retail sales and robust expansion in factory activity have been offset by rising unemployment and deflationary pressures, fueling calls for more stimulus.

Australia has swiftly turned down China's offer to "join hands" against Donald Trump's tariffs, as Washington escalates its trade war with Beijing, BBC.com reported. The White House recently imposed an import tax of 10% on Australian goods, but for China - Australia's biggest trading partner - raised tariffs to 125%. China's ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian argued joint resistance is "the only way" to stop the "hegemonic and bullying behaviour of the US", appealing for Canberra's cooperation in an opinion piece on Thursday.

China on Wednesday announced an additional 50% retaliatory tariff on all U.S. imports, bringing the total tariff level to 84%, NPR.org reported. The measures are a response to President Trump's latest round of tariffs, which went into effect overnight, and include a 104% levy on Chinese goods. The Chinese finance ministry says the new charges will take effect at midnight in China, or Wednesday noon Eastern time. "The US's practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake," the ministry said in a statement announcing the fresh round of levies. China calls on the U.S.

China’s electric vehicle boom is masking lopsided economic gains, with manufacturing hubs that rely on foreign carmakers falling behind cities that are home to hugely popular domestic brands like BYD Co., Bloomberg News reported. No city exhibits how quickly the tide can turn better than Guangzhou, where auto manufacturing accounts for about a quarter of economic output. The capital of Guangdong, China’s wealthiest province, was the country’s biggest car producer for five years running, buoyed by state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.’s joint ventures with Toyota Motor Corp.

China pledged to retaliate against Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat and mobilized state organs to send a message of resilience, raising the risk of a prolonged trade war between the world’s two largest economies, Bloomberg News reported. “The US threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a Tuesday statement, hours after the US president vowed to impose additional import taxes.

China's regulatory body for state assets said on Tuesday it would support central government-owned companies to increase their stock holdings and share buybacks to mitigate the impact of an escalating global trade war on the country's stock market, Reuters reported. Several Chinese state-owned companies, including oil giant Sinopec have already announced plans to buy back shares to bolster investor confidence.

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on China, escalating the tit-for-tat retaliation with Beijing that followed the White House’s sweeping import tax rollout last week, Politico reported. “If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. China was a primary target of Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs announced last week.

With the new tariffs announced on Wednesday in Washington, President Trump has now imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods of 54 percent — an extremely heavy burden that will cause companies to look elsewhere for suppliers, the New York Times reported. Trump added a 34 percent tariff on imports from China, to take effect on April 9, on top of two earlier rounds of 10 percent tariffs he had already imposed. Those are just the new tariffs on China since Trump started his second term in office.

Global ratings agency Fitch on Thursday downgraded China's sovereign credit rating, citing expectations of a continued weakening of public finances and rapidly rising debt, Reuters reported. The downgrade came a day after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from U.S. trading partners, with China among the hardest-hit, though Fitch said his move had not yet been incorporated into its forecasts. Fitch cut China's long-term foreign currency rating by one notch to "A" from "A+", one year after it downgraded its outlook on China's credit rating.

China has taken steps to restrict local companies from investing in the U.S. in a move that could give Beijing more leverage for potential trade negotiations with the Trump administration, Bloomberg News reported. Several branches of China’s top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, have been instructed in recent weeks to hold off on registration and approval for firms that are looking to invest in the US, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing sensitive issues.