Washington/Beijing — US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Beijing not to retaliate in an escalating trade dispute after China said it “will never surrender to external pressure”. The trade war between the world’s top two economies heightened on Friday after Trump hiked tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese goods, saying China reneged on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations. Beijing vowed to respond to the latest US tariffs. “As for the details, please continue to pay attention,” foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing on Monday, copying the US expression of “wait and see”. Trump warned China not to intensify the trade dispute and urged their leaders to continue working to reach a deal. “China should not retaliate — will only get worse,” he said on Twitter. “I say openly to President Xi [Jinping] & all of my many friends in China that China will be hurt very badly if you don’t make a deal because companies will be forced to leave Chin...