US threatens to double down on China tariffs at Asian summit unless Beijing bows to demands

The US government today refused to back down from its ongoing trade dispute with China, warning it would double existing tariffs on Chinese imports if the country refuses to heel to its demands.

US vice president Mike Pence issued a stark warning to China at an Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Papua New Guinea this morning, in a bid to force the country's hand.

“We have taken decisive action to address our imbalance with China,” Pence declared. “We put tariffs on $250bn in Chinese goods, and we could more than double that number.”

“The United States, though, will not change course until China changes its ways.”

President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on $250bn worth of Chinese imports this year to force concessions on a list of demands that would change the terms of trade between the two countries.

Pence's warning came as a surprise, just a day after Trump admitted the US may not impose more tariffs because China had provided a list of measures it was willing to take to resolve the dispute.

The list is reported to have contained 142 items, but Trump claimed there were "four or five big things left off" and "it's just not acceptable to me yet", but was confident it would not come down to a tariff increase.

The current tariff rate is set at 10 per cent but is due to increase to 25 per cent on 1 January, if a deal is not struck in the meantime. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping responded with a subtle warning that the US risked closing themselves off from the world and was joined by a number of other Asia-Pacific leaders in urging free-trade.

“One who chooses to close his door will only cut himself off from the rest of the world and lose his direction,” Xi said at the APEC summit today.