The White House's newly-appointed national economic council director is defending President Trump's trade policies. Larry Kudlow said China is to blame - not Donald Trump. CGTN's Nathan King has more.

Following Thursday's surprise order from U.S. President Donald Trump for another list of potential tariffs on 100 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports, White House officials say it's all part of a plan.

LARRY KUDLOW DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL "He intended to do this all along. Again, yes, he intended to take a tough stand. That was a campaign pledge to help America grow. He's right. That's my point. I'll say it again. Blame China not Trump."

For now, imposing new tariffs is still likely months away. The White House says it wants to negotiate but admits there are currently no talks, and China is ruling them out under the current circumstances. There are consultations beginning at the WTO but Trump said in a tweet, the WTO is part of the problem.

TRUMP TWEET "China, which is a great economic power, is considered a Developing Nation within the World Trade Organization. They therefore get tremendous perks and advantages, especially over the U.S. Does anybody think this is fair. We were badly represented. The WTO is unfair to U.S."

Domestic reaction in the U.S. has been largely negative to the latest escalation in tariffs threats - the stock market is taking a beating and even President Trump's political allies aren't happy - one Republican senator tweeted:

Ben Sasse, Republican U.S. Senator "Hopefully the President is just blowing off steam again but, if he's even half-serious, this is nuts. China is guilty of many things, but the President has no actual plan to win right now. He's threatening to light American agriculture on fire. Let's absolutely take on Chinese bad behavior, but with a plan that punishes them instead of us. This is the dumbest possible way to do this."

Slapping tariffs on China was part of what Donald Trump campaigned on- now he is surrounded by like-minded advisers like U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Trade Adviser Peter Navarro - voices that have called for caution have mostly left the White House.

NATHAN KING WHITE HOUSE Beyond calling for China to change its practices, the White House has not said what it would settle for in any negotiations. At the moment, there are just threats- whether they are serious or empty ones we don't yet know. Nathan King, CGTN, White House.