U.S. protectionism is self-defeating and a “symptom of paranoid delusions” that must not distract China from its path to modernization, Chinese state media said on Friday, as the war of words intensifies between the two countries over trade.

The official China Daily, in an editorial on Friday, said the U.S. has failed to understand that the business it does with China supports millions of American jobs and the approach Trump administration was adopting was “self-defeating”.
“The woes the administration is inflicting on Chinese companies do not simply translate into boons for U.S. enterprises and the U.S. economy. The fast-shrinking Chinese investment in the U.S. reflects the damage being done to China-U.S. relations… by the trade crusade of Trump and his trade hawks,” read the editorial.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to hit $200 billion of Chinese imports with 10 percent tariffs if China retaliates against his previous targeting of $50 billion in imports. China’s Commerce Ministry, reacting strongly, accused the United States of being “capricious” over bilateral trade issues.