Geneva, Switzerland - Chinese officials opened a formal complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over President Donald Trump's trade war, alleging a violation of international rules.

China's Ministry of Commerce on Friday accused the US of blatantly violating WTO rules and called Trump's tariffs "typical unilateral bullying."

Beijing earlier announced that it would impose 34% tariffs on the US after Trump's shocking "Liberation Day" announcement upped US levies on China by an additional 34%.

The move, based on dodgy mathematics rumored to have been completed by an AI model, increased the total sum of US tariffs on China to around 70%, and shook global trade to the core.

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A commerce ministry spokesperson in Beijing said that China "firmly opposes" the global trade war triggered by Trump's tariff regime, and said that it will "take resolute countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."

"The so-called 'reciprocal tariffs,' unilaterally determined through subjective U.S. assessments, violate international trade rules and severely infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of affected parties," the spokesperson said.

"This constitutes a typical case of unilateral bullying, which has drawn strong dissatisfaction and clear objections from numerous trading partners."

In a press conference on Friday, China's foreign ministry also hit back at the US, doubling down on claims that Trump was breaking WTO rules, and calling for countries to work together "with equality, respect," and for "mutual benefit."

"This gravely violates WTO rules, and undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system," said foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun. "China firmly rejects this and will do what is necessary to defend our legitimate rights."

"We have emphasized more than once that trade and tariff wars have no winners," Guo said. "Protectionism leads nowhere."