The US-China trade war is about to get real

China and the United States are expected to launch a potentially damaging trade war, but Beijing could hit its rival with tariffs first.

The European Union has turned down China's proposal of co-operation against escalating U.S. trade tariffs on European and Chinese goods.

Many investors fear Washington will go ahead with its plan to impose tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods on July 6, which Beijing has vowed to match with tariffs on us products, raising the risk of a full-blown trade war.

Speaking at a weekly news conference, Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng warned the proposed US tariffs would hit worldwide supply chains, including foreign companies in the world's second-largest economy.

The South China Morning Post said China is likely to cancel orders for 1.1 million tons of soybeans from the us this year.

Countries are ranked by how integrated they are into the global value chain. "To put it simply, the USA is opening fire on the entire world, including itself", he said.

"The US has provoked this trade war, we do not want to fight it, but in order to safeguard the interests of the country and the people, we have no choice but to fight", said China commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng.

"We will continue to assess the potential impact of the USA -initiated trade war on companies and will help companies mitigate possible shocks".

The global commercial order is being shaken by the Trump administration's use of an obscure USA trade-law provision on national security to justify steel and aluminium tariffs against a host of countries including defence allies.

China has been the biggest target of Trump's tariffs.

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This hegemonic mentality is risky for the world economy, which requires close cooperation and normal competition, not a damaging trade war, to achieve sustainable growth.

Chinese state media has promoted the message that the European Union is on China's side.

Chinese stocks slipped on Thursday and the yuan gave back some of its recent gains against the dollar as a targeted cut of reserve requirements for banks took effect amid the heightened trade tensions.

China's stock market fell sharply on Wednesday as traders anxious about the escalating trade dispute.

After months of threats and skirmishes, the trade war between the United States and China is about to get serious.

China has vowed to respond "immediately", with experts warning that tit-for-tat measures between the two financial superpowers will send shockwaves around the global economy and strike at the heart of the world trading system.

Chinese state media on Wednesday kept up a steady drum beat of criticism of the United States.

In meetings in Brussels, Berlin and Beijing, senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He and the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, have proposed an alliance between the two economic powers and offered to open more of the Chinese market in a gesture of goodwill.

Analysts say China is unlikely to budge on those plans, which it sees as crucial for developing its huge economy.