China said on Wednesday that it has appointed a new trade envoy as the world's second-largest economy pushes back against US President Donald Trump's swingeing tariffs on imports that sent global markets tumbling.

Li Chenggang has assumed the role of representative for international trade negotiations and vice minister of commerce, Beijing's human resources ministry said in a statement on its website.

Li, 58, previously served as Beijing's ambassador to the World Trade Organization and deputy permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, according to an official biography.

He boasts decades of experience in various trade ministry roles and holds law degrees from Peking University and Germany's University of Hamburg.

He replaces Wang Shouwen, the ministry statement said.

Wang took part in talks that led to a 2020 trade deal between China and the United States.

Beijing and Washington have been locked in a high-stakes game of brinkmanship since Trump launched a global tariff assault that has particularly targeted Chinese imports.

Tit-for-tat retaliation has pushed US levies imposed on China to 145 percent and Beijing's toll on American goods to 125 percent.

China said on Wednesday that its economy grew by 5.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, beating expectations even as officials warned that US tariffs were exerting "certain pressures". (AFP)