"The unilateral increase in US customs tariffs has dealt a severe blow to the multilateral trading system," Wang said at a meeting with Head of the UN Trade and Development organization (UNCTAD) Rebeca Grynspan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, quoted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Wang called on all parties to firmly defend multilateralism and free trade, protect the fundamental principles of the global trading system and restore greater stability and certainty to the world economy, the ministry added.
China and the US are effectively in a trade war, which erupted after Trump imposed a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports in February. In March, the tariff was raised to 20%. After several reciprocal steps, the US tariff on Chinese goods reached 145%, while the tariff on US suppliers in China reached 125%. The two countries then agreed to reduce their respective tariffs to 10% for 90 days, starting May 14. Thus, China has imposed a 10% tariff on US imports, while the United States has levied a 30% tariff on Chinese products, maintaining the 20% "fentanyl" duty.