China retaliates against U.S. with tariffs, controls on American companies

China hit back at the U.S. with a slate of retaliatory measures in response to the Trump administration's latest tariff increase, escalating a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

- Hannah Miao & Liza Lin

The coordinated action across government bodies—including a series of new tariffs on American products as well as controls on U.S. companies—was announced just as the White House's additional 10% levy on all Chinese products came into effect.

China's finance ministry said the country is imposing an additional 15% tariff on U.S. chicken, wheat, corn and cotton products, and an additional 10% tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, fruits, vegetables and dairy products. The new tariffs from China are set to go into effect on March 10.

The country's Ministry of Commerce added 15 American companies to an export control list. They include drone maker Skydio, as well as Andreessen Horowitz-backed artificial-intelligence startup Shield AI, which makes AI-powered systems for drones. Inclusion on the list would prohibit Chinese export of dual-use items, which can be used for both civilian and military applications, to those companies.

The Commerce Ministry also added 10 American companies to China's "unreliable entity" list. These firms are prohibited from exporting or importing in China or from making new investments in the country, according to the ministry.

The ministry said it would prohibit U.S. biotech company Illumina from exporting gene sequencers to China after Beijing added the company to the "unreliable entity" list in retaliation for President Trump's first round of tariffs in February.