India, April 10 -- The tariff war between China and the United States continued to escalate as Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for most nations, except Beijing. On top of this, he also hiked the duty on China to 125 per cent on Wednesday, effective immediately.

China's commerce ministry on Thursday said that while Beijing is open to dialogue with Washington, it must take place on the basis of mutual respect and equality.

Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China, ministry spokesperson He Yongqian told reporters during a press briefing.

Earlier on Wednesday, Washington and Beijing hit each other with tit-for-tat moves. The thread of chain reactions began with the US president announcing hi...