China condemns Trump's 'tariff shocks' at WTO, warns of global recession

Organization's chief urges members to avoid escalation into 'catastrophic' trade war

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Li Chenggang, China's Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, in Geneva. He told the body that Trump's tariffs "heighten economic uncertainty, disrupt global trade, and risk domestic inflation, market distortion, or even global recession." © Reuters

February 19, 2025 09:34 JST

GENEVA (Reuters) -- China condemned tariffs launched or threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump at a World Trade Organization meeting on Tuesday, warning that such "tariff shocks" threaten to upend the global trading system and could risk a global recession.

Trump has announced sweeping 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to respond with retaliatory tariffs and to file a WTO dispute against Washington in what could be an early test of Trump's stance towards the institution.