The US-China trade war has escalated dramatically after Donald Trump's White House slapped new tariffs on $200billion (£154bn) of goods.
A 25% duty on 5,700 types of product took effect on exports leaving Chinese ports for the US after 5am UK time today.
China warned it would fight back with as-yet-unknown measures - as the state's Commerce Ministry said it "deeply regrets" the decision.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned a mounting spat would "destroy" jobs across Europe.
He said there is "no greater threat to world growth", adding: "It would mean that trade tariffs go up, fewer goods would circulate around the world and jobs in France and in Europe would be destroyed."
The tariffs - which are a rise from the previous 10% rate to 25% - were imposed amid two days of talks between US and Chinese negotiators to rescue a faltering deal.
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Both sides had aimed at ending a 10-month trade war between the world's two largest economies.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke for 90 minutes yesterday.
They were expected to resume negotiations on Friday.
The Commerce Ministry said that negotiations were continuing, and that it "hopes the United States can meet China halfway, make joint efforts, and resolve the issue through cooperation and consultation".
Goods already in transit will not be subject to the tariffs.
"This creates an unofficial window, potentially lasting a couple of weeks, in which negotiations can continue," said investment bank Goldman Sachs.
