Donald Trump has threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on all goods imported to the US from China if it does not withdraw its 34% retaliatory tariff.
Asian markets partly rebounding on Tuesday, but global markets continue to face turbulence as the US president pursues his tariff threats.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump gave China until Tuesday to scrap its countermeasure or face the 50% tax.
In response, the Chinese embassy in the US accused Washington of "economic bullying", and said that Beijing "will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests".
If Trump acts on his threats, US companies could face a total rate of 104% on Chinese imports.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 nonetheless saw strong gains of 6.41% during opening trade while the Topix gained 6.81%. In South Korea, the Kospi rose 1.7% and the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 2.35%.
China's Shanghai Composite limped up to 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 3%, recovering some of the massive losses it suffered on Monday when it plunged 13.2%.