New Delhi, April 16 -- A top Chinese official issued a scathing warning of President Donald Trump's latest tariff escalation on Tuesday (April 15), warning that the "extremely shameless" trade war would ultimately harm "peasants in the United States".

Xia Baolong, who oversees Hong Kong and Macao affairs for Beijing, in a nationally televised address, condemned the Trump administration's decision to impose a 145% levy on goods from the region, calling the move "brutally unreasonable".

"The US isn't after our tariffs but our very survival," Xia declared. "The US has repeatedly contained and suppressed Hong Kong . and this will eventually backfire on itself."

"Let those peasants in the United States wail in front of the 5,000 years of Ch...