Image source, Getty Images

China's leader Xi Jinping is in Malaysia today, and will visit Cambodia next, as part of a tour of South East Asia where he is urging economic cooperation.

He left Vietnam yesterday, where he signed a slate of agreements and told his counterpart To Lam to "jointly oppose unilateral bullying".

South East Asian countries face some of the highest US tariffs, including 46% for Vietnam and 49% for Cambodia - before a 90-day pause was issued last week.

As governments around the world scramble to negotiate with the Trump administration, China is urging unity against the tariffs and has struck back with aits own 125% tax on imports from the US.

Xi's "charm offensive" tour has not gone unnoticed by Washington.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that talks between China and Vietnam were about them trying to work out how to "screw the United States of America."

Major markets in Asia are trading lower today as concerns about the US-China trade war drag on investor sentiment.

Here's where they currently stand:

Nikkei 225 (Japan) -1.3%

Hang Seng (Hong Kong) -2.3%

Shanghai Composite (China) -0.6%

Car making giant Honda says it will move production of its five-door Civic hybrid model that it sells in the US from Japan to America.

Production of the model in the Yorii factory, near Tokyo, is likely to end in June or July, a spokesperson adds.

Honda, like other firms that make vehicles outside the US, have been hit with a 25% on vehicles they export to America.

Suranjana Tewari
Asia business reporter

As well as overall growth figures, China's statistics bureau released other data today which tell us more about how the economy is faring.

Retail sales, a key gauge of how much money people are spending, rose 5.9% in March compared to the previous year. Retail sales were up by 4% in January and February, so that is is quite a jump.

They were driven by higher sales in home electronics and furniture - boosted by a government scheme that lets people trade in their home appliances for new ones at subsidised prices.

Factory output also increased by 7.7% in March, which was better than forecasts.

But China's property downturn is still dragging on growth. Property investment fell by almost 10% in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

New home prices also were unchanged compared to the previous month - a sign that there are still too many empty homes, and not enough people buying them.

Officials have said there is ample room and plenty of tools they can use to bolster the economy and roll out more support measures.

It will be even more important for Beijing to boost domestic demand and spending this year to cushion the impact of the Trump's tariffs.

Nick Marsh
Reporting from Kuala Lumpur

Image source, Getty Images

After his Vietnam visit, Xi Jinping is again getting the red carpet treatment on a scorching hot day here in Kuala Lumpur.

We've already seen a steady stream of officials and diplomats entering the Istana Negara, Malaysia's national palace, where the Chinese leader will attend a state banquet before heading to talks with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

This visit is about projecting Beijing's strong ties here and reassuring Malaysia that Chinese investment in infrastructure and manufacturing will continue.

Xi's message to his South East Asian neighbours is simple: don't forget who your largest investor is and remember it's the US, not China, that's imposing tariffs on you.

By extension, it's also a signal to Donald Trump that China has other options when it comes to trade.

Reports in US media suggest the White House will try to use upcoming negotiations with smaller countries to pressure them into limiting their dealings with the China.

But on Monday, Malaysia's trade minister told the BBC that his country could not choose and would not choose between the US and China when it came to economic partnerships.

Image source, Getty Images

Ryosei Akazawa, the Japanese minister tasked with US tariff negotiations, is heading to Washington as he tries to convince the Trump administration to lower tariffs on his country.

Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba agreed to launch negotiations last week - though Ishiba said Japan would not make big concessions or rush to a deal.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Tuesday that Japan “will urge the US side to review its tariff measures as we take a whole of government approach to producing results as soon as possible.”

Japan, a close US ally, faces 24% “reciprocal” tariffs which have been paused for 90 days. But its car industry, led by giants like Toyota, Honda and Nissan, has already been hit with 25% tariffs on vehicle exports to America.

Tourist trains, skydiving and micro-dramas - these are just some of the latest ideas China has come up with to spur domestic demand.

This morning, the country's commerce ministry announced 48 new measures to "promote the expansion of services, innovate diverse consumption scenarios, improve service quality and consumer experience".

All this is to "release the development potential of service consumption and provide strong support for high-quality economic development," the statement said.

It's the latest in a long line of stimulus measures - from subsidies for new household appliances to adjusting the minimum wage - that authorities have introduced in recent months to help shore up the economy.

Image source, Getty Images

China has been reiterating its commitment to international unity against the Trump administration's tariffs, as it finds itself in an escalating trade war with the US.

"In the face of external uncertainties, China will insist on shaking hands rather than shaking fists, tearing down walls instead of building barriers, connecting instead of decoupling," spokesperson Lin Jian said during a press briefing.

Chinese exports to the US have been hit with 145% tariffs, while US goods to China face 125% tariffs.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently on a "charm offensive" tour of South East Asia - taking in Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia - as he tries to strengthen ties with key trading partners.

Image source, Getty Images

Li Chenggang, China's former permanent representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO), has been named as China's new top trade negotiator.

He replaces vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen, who held the position of international trade negotiation representative since 2022.

The move is part of a broader reshuffle of the country's leadership.

Faced with an escalating tariffs war with the US, China has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to multilateral trade.

Image source, Getty Images

"The ball is in China's court: China needs to make a deal with us, we don't have to make a deal with them," Trump says, in a statement read out by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to a press briefing on Tuesday.

"China wants what we have... the American consumer," the statement said.

"The President again has made it quite clear that he's open to a deal with China, but China needs to make a deal with the United States of America," Leavitt said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his officials have been urging its trading partners to unite against the US tariffs and vowed to "fight to the end". But China has also said that the "door is open" for negotiations with the US.

We're getting a sense of how Chinese officials are viewing the global economy as Beijing braces for the full impact of US tariffs.

That's as the country's economic growth for the first three months of the year beat expectations, fuelled by higher retail sales and industrial output.

The Deputy Commissioner of the China Statistics Bureau, speaking after releasing those Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, said the government firmly opposes America's "tariff barriers and trade bullying".

Sheng Laiyun said it violates laws and the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has a serious impact on the global economic order.

Sheng also said the growth data underscores China's resilience in the face of crisis but "high tariffs imposed by the United States will bring certain pressure to our country's foreign trade and economy". He added that the impact of tariffs won't stop China's economy from growing in the long-term.

Sheng also signalled that China will be more pro-active with measures to boost growth, saying that Beijing has a "rich" policy took kit to help support the economy.

Hong Kong's postal service says it will stop shipping goods to the US in response to impending higher tariffs on items from the territory.

This comes as a "de minimis" exemption, allowing postal items from China costing $800 (£604) or less to enter the US duty-free, ends on 2 May.

Hongkong Post says, external it "will definitely not collect any so-called tariffs on behalf of the US", referring to the levies as "unreasonable and bullying acts".

The service will stop accepting items sent by sea with immediate effect. Meanwhile, air mail will be suspended from 27 April, with senders being warned of "exorbitant and unreasonable fees".

Hong Kong became a special administrative region of China in 1997. It is governed under the principle of "one country, two systems", under which China has agreed to give the region a high degree of autonomy.

Image source, Getty

Suranjana Tewari
Asia business reporter

As we've been reporting, Washington is restricting US chip giant Nvidia's exports to China - as part of a wider attempt to gain dominance in the semiconductor industry.

Chips have become a battleground in the US-China race for tech supremacy, and US President Donald Trump now wants to turbocharge a highly complex and delicate manufacturing process that has taken other regions decades to perfect.

But is that possible, given Taiwan and other parts of Asia have the secret sauce on creating high-precision chips. Can the US now start producing them - and at scale?

Image source, Getty Images

Trump has has told industry leader, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), it would have to pay a tax of 100% if it did not build factories in the US.

Today, TSMC's plants in Arizona produce high-quality chips. But Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, argues that "they're a generation behind the cutting edge in Taiwan".

Trump is trying to create a chip industry through protectionism and isolation, when what allowed the chip industry to emerge throughout Asia is the opposite: collaboration in a globalised economy.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

US chipmaker Nvidia says US restrictions on its H20 AI chip exports to China would cost the company $5.5bn (£4.15bn).

In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Nvidia said the US government told the company on 9 April that it would need a licence to export to China.

US authorities have in recent years tried to crack down on Nvidia and other AI chipmakers selling to China, citing national security concerns. The latest restrictions come just a day after Nvidia announced plans to manufacture some AI chips in the US.

Nvidia stocks slid more than 6% in extended trading.

Read more here

Laura Bicker
China correspondent, reporting from Guangzhou

"Trump is a crazy man," says Lionel Xu, who is surrounded by his company's mosquito repellent kits – many were once best sellers in Walmart stores in the United States.

Now those products are sitting in boxes in a warehouse in China and will remain there unless President Donald Trump lifts his 145% tariffs on all Chinese goods bound for the US.

"This is so hard for us," he adds. "We are worried. What if Trump doesn't change his mind? That will be a dangerous thing for our factory."

Nearby, Amy is helping to sell ice cream makers at her booth for the Guangdong Sailing Trade Company. Her key buyers, including Walmart, are also in the US.

"We have stopped production already," she says. "All the products are in the warehouse."

Image source, Rachel Yu/ BBC

It was the same story at nearly every booth in the sprawling Canton Fair in the trading hub of Guangzhou.

More than 30,000 businesses have come to the annual fair to show off their goods in several exhibition halls the size of 200 football pitches.

When the BBC speaks to Xu, he is getting ready to take some Australian buyers to lunch. They have come looking for a bargain and hope to drive down the price.

"We will see," he says about the tariffs. He believes Trump will back down.

"Maybe it will get better in one or two months," Xu adds with his fingers crossed. Maybe, maybe..."

Read more here.

Suranjana Tewari
Asia business reporter

China's growth numbers, which have just been released, beat expectations.

Most economists estimated that there would be around 5.1% growth between January and March of this year.

Instead, Beijing says the first quarter GDP (Gross Domestic Product) numbers came in at 5.4% compared to the same period last year.

This data covers a period before US tariffs jumped from 10% to 145%, so some of the expansion could be down to factories ramping up activity, pushing out products and getting them exported - a concept called "front loading".

Beijing is aiming for economic growth of "around 5%" this year. Analysts say that is ambitious given a protracted property crisis, low domestic demand and sweeping US tariffs on Chinese goods which are all weighing on the economy.

Annabelle Liang
Business reporter, Singapore

Tariffs are levies that make it more costly to export goods to markets like the US.

For businesses in China, that tax on sending many products to America stands at 145%.

Firms have to make difficult choices of whether to raise their prices to customers, absorb the cost of the tariffs, or a bit of both.

All three options can result in lower profits, affecting the contributions of businesses to the Chinese economy. This could impact growth, because of how much the country relies on exports.

Tariffs can also affect investor confidence. In recent weeks, tariff announcements have rocked financial markets around the world as well as China.

But the full effects is not reflected in today's GDP release, covering the first three months of the year, analysts say.

Louise Loo from the Oxford Economics consultancy expects the "dent to growth to only come in the May or June numbers".

"That is when shipments in transit start getting the full treatment of tariffs, translating to a pullback in business investments and production," she adds.

Stephen Innes from the SPI Asset Management firm says that with tariffs, China's growth "trajectory from here is unmistakably ugly".

"With forecasts dropping below 4% for the next few quarters, that’s a steep cliff from Beijing’s official 5% growth target," he adds.

China's economy grew by 5.4% year-on-year in the first three months of the 2025, according to data just released by the government.

This beat most expectations, but the escalating trade war with the United States has dimmed the outlook for the rest of the year.

It is likely to raise pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus to offset higher costs and boost the economy.

Image source, Getty Images

At a glance, here's what you need to know about the tariffs that are rocking the global economy:

• Trump announced a slate of so-called "reciprocal" tariffs on 2 April, which includes a 10% baseline rate on all imports and additional taxes on certain countries.
• The 10% tariff rate took effect on 5 April, but Trump announced a 90-day pause on the higher rates just hours after they kicked in on 9 April. This came as leaders around the world scrambled to negotiate reductions to the tariffs their exporters are due to face in the US.
• China, which has vowed to fight Trump's protectionist measures, faced even higher levies after it imposed retaliatory tariffs. Now the US and China are locked in a trade war, with US goods hit with 125% tariffs, and Chinese goods looking at 145%.
• Some goods - steel, aluminium, vehicles and vehicle parts - are subject to separate 25% sector-specific tariffs. Some sectors like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, were previously exempted from tariffs, but the Trump administration says it's looking at imposing tariffs on them too.

Peter Hoskins
Live page editor

Welcome to our live coverage of the tariffs war between the US and China.

China is due to publish economic growth figures for the first three months of the year shortly.

It comes as Beijing is bracing for the full impact of US taxes -145% - on its exports to the US.

China's leader Xi Jinping is in Malaysia today, as part of a '"charm offensive" tour of South East Asia to shore up alliances with key trading partners.

Follow us as we bring you all the latest developments.