The effective start date for the new charges was not announced, though China's Ministry of Commerce said the tariffs are designed to target up to $50 billion of U.S. products annually.

The 25 percent levy on U.S. imports includes products such as soybeans, cars and whiskey, Beijing said. The full list can be found here.

Trade showdown

The move comes less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump unveiled a list of Chinese imports that he aims to target as part of a crackdown on what he deems as unfair trade practices.

Sectors covered by Trump's proposed tariffs include products used for robotics, information technology, communication technology and aerospace.

The trade showdown between Washington and Beijing has rattled investors and fueled market fears that the dispute could soon spiral into a full-blown trade war.

When asked whether global markets were now officially observing an all-out trade war, Goldman Sachs' chief global equity strategist, Peter Oppenheimer, told CNBC: "I think it is clearly a trade battle at the very least."