China is still cautiously trying to figure out what Trump wants. The president has threatened big tariffs in response to the inaction.

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hand with China's President Xi Jinping at the end of a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. No U.S. President has been tougher on China than Donald Trump,

Beijing is studying both tariff and non-tariff moves to counter the U.S. president's higher tariffs, per Chinese state media.

China has American agricultural exports in its cross hairs as it prepares countermeasures against fresh U.S. import tariffs, China's state-backed Global Times reported, raising the stakes in an escalating trade war between the world's top two economies.

China is considering retaliatory measures on US agriculture and food products in response to tariffs from the Trump administration that are scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, according to the Global Times.