Newsweek has contacted the White House and the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment. President Donald Trump raised U.S. tariffs on China to a combined 145 percent, prompting the Chinese to retaliate with a 125 percent levy on American imports.

Investors are hopeful that U.S.-China trade talks this weekend will cool a trade war between the world's two largest economies and dispel some of the uncertainty clouding financial markets, though few expect a major breakthrough just yet.

Sensitive talks between U.S. and Chinese delegations over tariffs that threaten to upend the global economy ended after a day of prolonged negotiations and will resume Sunday, an official told The Associated Press.