Sri Lanka, April 15 -- China is "tearing down walls" and expanding its circle of trading partners, "shaking hands" instead of "shaking fists", its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, as Beijing works on diversifying ties amid an escalating trade war with the U.S.

President Donald Trump has added an eye-watering 145% of tariffs on Chinese goods this year as part of broader reciprocal duties on all U.S. trading partners. That prompted ridicule and criticism from Beijing, which retaliated by jacking up levies on U.S. goods by 125%.

"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," Lin Jian, a foreign ministr...