A whopping increase in tariffs, followed by a whopping retaliation. Nationalist Chinese bloggers comparing President Trump’s levies to a declaration of war. China’s Foreign Ministry vowing that Beijing will “fight to the end.”

       For years, the world’s two biggest powers have flirted with the idea of an economic decoupling as tensions between them have risen. The acceleration this week of their trade relationship’s deterioration has made the prospect of such a divorce seem closer than ever.

       That was underscored on Wednesday when China announced an additional 50 percent tariff on U.S. goods, matching new American levies that had taken effect hours earlier. China also struck at American companies, imposing export controls on a dozen of them and adding six others to a list of “unreliable entities,” preventing them from doing business in China.

       China’s new tariffs, which will take effect on Thursday, mean all American goods shipped to China will face an additional 84 percent import tax. On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Trump retaliated, raising tariffs on Chinese exports to 125 percent. Both figures would have been unimaginable a few weeks ago.

       Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       With China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and Mr. Trump locked in a game of chicken — each unwilling to risk looking weak by making a concession — the trade fight could spiral even further out of control, inflaming tensions over other areas of competition like technology and the fate of Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by Beijing.

       Image

       President Trump’s assault on the global trading system strikes at the core of one of China’s only current economic bright spots. Credit...Eric Lee/The New York Times

       Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.