Early Friday, Retuers reported, citing two persons familiar with the situation, that the US is considering new sanctions against Chinese diplomats over the Hong Kong problem.
The article stated, “The United States is planning to slap sanctions on a number of Chinese officials on Friday in response to Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong, as well as a warning to multinational corporations operating there about deteriorating conditions.”
“Sanctions will target seven officials from China’s Hong Kong liaison office, the official platform which projects Beijing’s influence into Chinese territory,” according to Reuters’ sources.
The Financial Times (FT), on the other hand, published headlines implying China’s reaction to US sanctions signals.
Beijing has snubbed the United States by refusing to meet with Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state, during a planned trip to China, which would have been the first high-level engagement since the tense talks in Alaska.
The United States canceled Sherman’s trip to Tianjin when China declined to meet with her counterpart, Le Yucheng.
The US saw Sherman’s travel as a possible stepping stone to Blinken’s China visit, which would pave the way for Biden’s first meeting with Xi at the G20 summit in Italy in October.
S&P 500 Futures fell 0.10 percent to 4,347 as a result of the news, putting additional downward pressure on market mood. Furthermore, by press time, the risk barometer in Asia, notably the AUD/USD pair, has faded the corrective bounce from 0.7409 around 0.7425.
On sour mood, the AUD/USD is struggling to defend its 2021 bottom at 0.7400./n
