French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou warned that relying on China to replace the U.S. as a trade partner is both naive and risky, urging European Union (EU) nations to remain united amid rising global trade tensions.
“The idea that the United States could be replaced by China is a terribly dangerous idea,” Bayrou told reporters on Friday during a visit to a fair for cheese and wine.
President Xi Jinping told Spain’s prime minister on Friday that China and the EU must join together in defending globalisation and opposing “unilateral acts of bullying”, in a clear swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Trump’s Earthquake
Bayrou also urged the EU to show solidarity in the face of the uncertainty triggered by US President Donald Trump.
“When the President of the United States raises tariffs, it is an earthquake but when the President of the United States 48 hours later drops tariffs, it is another earthquake,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, President Emmanuel Macron said Trump’s decision this week for a 90-day suspension on tariffs he had imposed on countries gave room for only a ‘fragile pause’.
“The partial suspension of American tariffs for 90 days sends out a signal and leaves the door open for talks. But this pause is a fragile one,” Macron wrote on X.
China’s 125% Counter
China on Friday announced its decision to raise retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports from 84% to 125%, further escalating the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement: “Adjust the tariff rate stipulated in the ‘Announcement of the State Council Tariff Commission on Adjusting the Tariff Measures on Imports Originating from the United States’ (Tax Commission Announcement No. 5 of 2025) from 84% to 125%.”
“Given that at the current tariff level, there is no market acceptance for US goods exported to China. If the US continues to impose tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the United States, China will ignore it,” the statement said.
China made the latest move in the trade war, which has hit the global markets, just hours after President Trump raised tariffs on Beijing to 145%.
(With inputs from Reuters)
