US President Donald Trump increased pressure on China on Sunday when he announced that US tariffs on certain Chinese products would rise from 10 percent to 25 percent on Friday.

More Chinese goods are to face additional tariffs, he said.

"For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High Tech, and 10% on 200 Billion Dollars of other goods," Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

"The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday," he added.

In the announcement on Twitter, Trump said that talks to secure a trade deal with China are continuing, but are moving "too slowly."

Tariff truce ends

The tariff hike would be the first to occur since Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a tariff truce in December to avoid further escalation in the trade war between Washington and Beijing.

Trump delayed a planned tariff increase earlier this year, citing progress in trade talks with China.

The announcement on Sunday came as a surprise, as Trump had said as recently as Friday that the negotiations with China were going well.

Chinese officials are also expected to arrive in Washington for trade talks on Wednesday.

Tense trade talks

The United States imposed a 10% tariff on more than $200 billion (€178 billion) in Chinese goods last September. China retaliated by levying tariffs amounting to some $110 billion on US goods.

Washington has accused Beijing of harming US companies by stealing US technology and intellectual property, manipulating its currency and subsidizing domestic producers.

The trade dispute between the world's two largest economies has sparked fears in financial markets.

jm/rs (Reuters, dpa, AFP)

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