China may find itself in trade war with US over North Korea, experts warn

China could find itself in a trade war with the United States, ­analysts warn, after Washington lashed out at Beijing for not doing enough to rein in Pyongyang’s ­nuclear weapon ambitions.

US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday threatened Washington would cut off trade with countries that ­continued to do business with North Korea and said her ­delegation planned to introduce “in the coming days” a new UN Security Council resolution aimed at halting all violations of existing sanctions against North Korea.

Haley’s trade threat appeared to be a jab at China, which US President Donald Trump has ­accused of undermining efforts aimed at subduing Pyongyang’s weapons programme by trading with the country. It was followed by a tweet from Trump: “US made some of the worst trade deals in world history. Why should we ­continue these deals with ­countries that do not help us?”

The remarks cast uncertainty over talks in Hamburg between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit, which starts on Friday, and will add tension to the China-US trade and economic dialogues ­later this month.

Washington stepped up its rhetoric against North Korea after Pyongyang fired an intercontinental ballistic missile this week, with Haley saying that the US would use military force to stop the reclusive state.

Chinese Vice-Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said China and the US had made “progress” in their 100-day action plan agreed in April to tackle trade ­imbalances.