hina and Hong Kong stocks weakened on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump hinted at potential new tariffs on Chinese imports, ending a brief reprieve for the markets.
The blue-chip CSEI 300 Index declined 1.1 percent in early trade, the biggest retreat in nearly two weeks, and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.9 percent.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 1.5 percent, pulling back from a one-month high.
Sentiment took a hit after Trump said on Tuesday that his administration was still considering a 10 percent punitive duty on Chinese imports due to fentanyl issues.
That put an end to the short-lived relief in Tuesday's Asian trading hours after Trump held off announcing any China-specific tariffs on his first day back in office.
Sentiment will continue to come under pressure, which would weigh on risk assets, as there is a chance that Trump might announce more drastic measures to achieve his goals, analysts at Citic Securities said in a note.
Leading declines onshore, the real estate sector tumbled 2.4 percent to pare gains made the previous day.
China's chip sector also gave up earlier gains to decline 0.6 percent, after Trump announced a private sector investment of up to $500 billion to fund infrastructure for artificial intelligence to outpace rival nations.
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