China slashes tariffs for Asian countries as US trade fight escalates

China is slashing tariffs on imports from five Asian countries in a move that could strengthen its defenses in a trade war with the United States.

Beijing will reduce tariffs on thousands of products from India and South Korea, as well as the smaller economies of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Laos, China's commerce ministry said Thursday, CNN reported.

The reductions are due to take effect on July 1. They're part of an agreement between the six countries called the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) that covers more than 10,000 goods in total, the ministry added.

China has identified more than 8,500 goods from the five countries on which it will "reduce or cancel tariffs," China's Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui said on Twitter. They include soybeans, steel, aluminum as well as other agricultural and chemical products, he added.

Many of those products could help replace imports from the United States that will become more expensive in China if the two countries go ahead with tariffs on $34 billion of each other's exports next week.