A trade war between the world’s two largest economies escalated on Friday after the US more than doubled tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products and Beijing vowed to retaliate.

The Trump administration’s move comes as high-level officials from both sides are attempting to salvage a trade deal in Washington.

The higher tariffs will be applied to relevant US-bound goods exported from China on or after Friday, according to a notice from the US Federal Register.

Tariffs are taxes paid by importers on foreign goods, so the 25 per cent tariff will be paid by American companies who bring Chinese goods into the country.

The US imposed a 10 per cent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese products — including fish, handbags, clothing and footwear — last year.

The US raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10 per cent to 25 per cent on Friday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in Beijing.

“China expresses deep regret over the development and will have to take necessary countermeasures,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We hope the United States will meet us halfway, and work with us to resolve existing issues through cooperation and consultation,” the statement said.

A Chinese delegation led by Beijing’s top trade negotiator Vice Premier Liu He arrived in Washington on Thursday for the latest round of trade talks.

Under the current circumstances, Liu said he “hopes to engage in rational and candid exchanges with the US side,” he was quoted as saying by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

Liu said that China believes raising tariffs is not a solution to the problems and is harmful to China, to the United States and to the whole world.

Talks between the two sides will resume in Washington on Friday, hours after the tariffs took effect.

Reactions in Asia markets to the US move were mixed.

Having started the day in positive territory, Japan’s Nikkei Index fell nearly 1 per cent in afternoon trading. The Shanghai Composite Index rose more than 2 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up around 1 per cent.

Even though President Trump has downplayed the impact of tariffs on the US economy, the rise is likely to affect some American companies and consumers as firms may pass on some of the cost, analysts said.