China has decreased its reliance on imports of U.S. farm goods since the trade war during President Donald Trump's first term, a trend that is poised to continue after Beijing on Tuesday announced tariffs on a range of agricultural products in response to fresh U.

Beijing imposed broad tariffs on imports of American food and said 15 U.S. companies could no longer buy from China without special permission.

China has escalated its trade dispute with the US, imposing up to 15% tariffs on select American agricultural imports in response to the Trump administration's latest tariff hikes. Meanwhile, Beijing's Ministry of Commerce blacklisted 15 US companies under export controls along with 10 more firms added to its "unreliable entity" list,

"China will fight to the bitter end of any trade war," the foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing declared, after China announced tit-for-tat tariffs on agricultural imports from the US. This came within minutes of a new 10% US levy on Chinese imports that came into effect on Tuesday - which adds to existing tariffs both from Trump's first term and those announced last month.