Alongside Wall Street, global stock markets took a beating after Trump unveiled a 10% baseline tax on all imports, as well as higher tariff rates for some major trade partners.

President Trump held up a chart in the Rose Garden outlining some of the larger tariff rates he will charge some nations. China will be charged a 34% tariff, the chart said, the European Union will get a 20% levy,

Trump increased the blanket tariff on Chinese imports to 54 percent and imposed new duties on major trading partners including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

The Chinese military staged live-fire drills in the East China Sea on Wednesday in an escalation of ongoing exercises near Taiwan, practicing long-range strikes on simulated critical infrastructure facilities.

Following Japan's condemnation of China's recent military exercises near Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry firmly rejected Japan's criticism, stating that it violated the "one-China principle" and emphasised that China's military actions were legitimate and necessary to safeguard national sovereignty.