TMTPOST -- The U.S. stock market on Thursday retreated on concerns over an escalating trade war between the world’s top two economies.

Credit：China Daily

The S&P 500 finished nearly 3.5% lower on Thursday following a 9.5% rally a day earlier, the large-cap benchmark’s biggest gain since October 2008 and the third best day since World War II, according to FactSet. The Nasdaq Composite dived 4.3%, paring part of gains on Wednesday, in which it surged 12.2%, its largest one-day jump since January 2001 and the second best day ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1014.79 points, or 2.5%, after the index climbed 2962.86 points, or nearly 7.9% on Wednesday. That represented a largest on-day point gain on record and its best daily performance by percentage points since March 2020.

The fall of American stocks and U.S. dollar flagged risk of intensifying U.S.-China trade tensions after Beijing’s repeated warning against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) stressed its stance again that Beijing will “fight to the end” if Trump sticks to his alleged blackmail.

If the United States is bent on waging a trade war, China will fight to the end, said the MOFCOM spokesperson He Yongqian at a press briefing on Thursday, reported the state news agency Xinhua. He called for a return to fair dialogue, stating while China remains open to talks, any talks must be based on mutual respect and conducted on equal footing.

China urged fair dialogue, not threats, to resolve trade dispute with U.S., according to He. "Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China. We hope that the two countries will meet each other halfway and work towards resolving differences through dialogue and consultation, guided by the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation," He said.

He blasted U.S. tariffs for these abused measures severely infringing upon China's legitimate rights and interests, curbing bilateral trade and impacting Chinese foreign trade enterprises. The spokesperson said China's foreign trade is well-prepared to face various risks and challenges, and China will focus on managing its affairs well and use its "certainty" to hedge against the "uncertainty" of the external environment.

 China does not want to fight these wars but is not scared of them. We will not sit idly by when the Chinese people’s legitimate rights and interests are denied or when the international trade rules and the multilateral trading regime are undermined, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian commented on Trump’s decision to pause on reciprocal tariffs on most countries but raise duties on China to 125%.

“If the U.S. is determined to fight a tariff and trade war, China’s response will continue to the end. If the U.S. puts its own interests over the public good of the international community and sacrifices all countries’ legitimate interests for its own hegemony, it will for sure meet stronger opposition from the international community,” said Lin at a press conference.

A tariff-wielding barbarian who attempts to force countries to call and beg for mercy can never expect that call from China, warned Huang Jingrui, the spokesperson for the Hong Kong office of China's Foreign Ministry. Huang wrote in an op-ed published in the South China Morning Post that the U.S. should immediately correct its wrong practices and adopt the right attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit if it’s serious about talks with China.