China has called off trade talks with the US, warning that they "cannot be carried out under the threat of tariffs".

Beijing accused the Trump administration of "trade bullyism" but said that the door was open to fresh negotiations in "an environment of mutual respect".

Another round of tariffs between the US and China came into effect today with some $200bn of Chinese products impacted by Donald Trump's sweeping new measures. The US president threatened to impose tariffs on a further $267bn of Chinese goods if Beijing retaliated.

The US is "intimidating other countries through economic measures" and has "brazenly preached unilateralism, protectionism and economic hegemony", a Chinese government white paper cited by state-run news agency Xinhua said.

The trade talks setback put global markets under pressure. The FTSE 100, which enjoyed its best week since February last week, slipped 0.4pc while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index suffered most in Asian trading, sinking 1.6pc. US stocks slipped off a record high when markets opened in New York with the Dow Jones pulling back 0.7pc.

Wall Street was also knocked by a report claiming that Rod Rosenstein, the US deputy attorney general overseeing the probe on Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election, will resign.