US Diplomat Stilwell: Appears Beijing is using coronavirus to accelerate political agenda, including on Hong Kong

Amid a slew of comments from the US and Chinese diplomats, David Stilwell, top US policymakers for East Asia recently conveyed his view for the Asian major’s latest actions. The US personnel said that it appears Beijing is using coronavirus to accelerate political agenda, including in Hong Kong.

FX implications

The war of words between the Sino and American leaders gained momentum after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo officially declared Hong Kong as not autonomous. The move could result in the Asian nation’s loss of special trading status with Washington while also increasing odds of the sanctions on Hong Kong and China.

As a result, the news weighs on the market’s risk-tone and pauses the AUD/USD pair’s latest recovery moves from 0.6567 around 0.6620.

• China is trying its best to protect Hong Kong from instability – The Global Times
• Pompeo: China in the past year 'has shed any pretense' that people of Hong Kong enjoy high degree of autonomy – Reuters