Trade tensions between the world's two leading economies are set to escalate on Monday, as Beijing begins levying tariffs on certain US agricultural goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump's latest hike on Chinese imports.

Tariffs are just one piece of a broader strategy aimed at curbing the growth of the world's second-largest economy and containing its geopolitical expansion.

China’s reliance on trade for growth faces fresh challenges as the United States and many other countries have raised tariffs on Chinese goods.

The inconsistent trade policy coming from Washington leaves Beijing with no clear path to take to get out of the crosshairs. That leaves retaliation as the most likely response.

The leaders of both Canada and Mexico got on the phone with President Donald Trump this past week to seek solutions after he slapped tariffs on their countries, but China’s president appears unlikely to make a similar call soon.

Beijing, which set steep duties on canola, peas and pork, wants Canada and Mexico to resist U.S. pressure to raise tariffs on Chinese goods.

China's commerce minister says Beijing will not yield to bullying and its economy can weather tariffs and other challenges, though there are “no winners in a trade war."

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi accuses the U.S. of 'meeting good with evil' as tensions over tariffs and fentanyl accusations escalate.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will continue to retaliate to the United States’ “arbitrary tariffs” and accused Washington of “meeting good with evil” in a press conference Friday on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliamentary session.