The new cycle of the US-China trade war is shaking up in Asian markets

HONG KONG – President Trump's trade war with China rocked Asian markets on Wednesday

China fell by nearly 2% after Trump administration threatened to impose new tariffs on Chinese products. . Japanese and South Korean stocks also fell, but to a lesser extent

on Wall Street, which rose on Tuesday, the futures markets were down, giving a glimpse of market opportunities US Wednesday morning. The Chinese currency has also been affected by the sale. China maintains good control over the value of its currency, but the small amount traded outside its borders – the offshore renminbi – is weakened against the dollar.

The intensification of the trade war adds to China's challenges, including signs that its efforts to control its debt problems could slow down economic growth. Investors have become scabrous as a result. China has now entered the bear market – when prices fall by more than 20% since a peak – and its market remains at levels never seen since a rout three years ago triggered a domino effect in world trade. Tuesday night, to impose duties on an additional $ 200 billion of Chinese products, including chemicals, handbags, oil and fish. This measure comes a few days after the United States began taxing $ 34 billion worth of Chinese products such as robotics, ball bearings and even aircraft parts.

The Chinese government on Wednesday promised unspecified countermeasures. He matched previous dollar-for-dollar rates, which leads some investors to worry that trading could be even more expensive.

David French, an executive at the National Retail Federation, termed the latest series of tariffs by the Trump administration "

" The threat to the US economy is less a question of "if "Than" when "and" wrong ", said Mr. French in an email. declaration.

The main stock index of China was down 1.9% at noon on Wednesday. In the city of Shenzhen, in the east of the country, where many new technologies and smaller businesses are being marketed, the market is down more than 2% by mid-day. In Hong Kong, the index of the largest Chinese companies was down 1.7%

The reaction was more reserved in other Asian markets. In Tokyo, the main index fell by 1.1%. Shares in Seoul fell by less than 1%.

In the United States, S & P 500 futures fell 0.6%, while Dow Jones futures fell 0.6%