WASHINGTON: The escalating trade confrontation between Washington and Beijing threatened to boil over on Friday (Apr 6) after President Donald Trump lashed out again and China called on the European Union to join the battle, sending global stocks into the red.

Trump remained defiant and argued the pain of the dispute will pay off in the end, while China said that his administration would only "shoot itself in the foot" if it didn't back down from the "extremely wrong" threats.