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Trump threatens China with tariffs hike of "at least" another $300B

President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping (not shown) make a joint statement at the Great Hall of the People on November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China.
President Trump. Photo: Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images

President Trump told reporters on Thursday he could raise China tariffs by "at least" another $300 billion of tariffs, Reuters video shows.

"Our talks with China, a lot of interesting things are happening. We’ll see what happens... I could go up another at least $300 billion and I’ll do that at the right time, but I think China wants to make a deal and I think Mexico wants to make a deal badly."

Why it matters: China’s Commerce Ministry said earlier on Thursday it would adopt necessary countermeasures if the Trump administration "unilaterally escalates trade tensions," according to Reuters, as it continued to blame U.S. pressure for trade negotiations stalling.

Go deeper:

U.S. China trade war