Trump administration is poised to escalate its actions against China
Reportedly after several weeks of trading in narrow ranges, bitcoin breached $10,000 on sunday for the first time since early June. In addition to suffering pricing blows due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, the virtual currency went through its third so-called halving on May 11, which cut the rewards given to those who “mine” bitcoin to 6.25 new coins from 12.5. The “halving” has affected the supply side of bitcoin and increased the time needed for miners to find their break-even point.On sunday, the cryptocurrency hit highs of $10,200. Meanwhile US officials say the trump administration is poised to escalate its actions against china by stepping squarely into one of the most sensitive regional issues dividing them and rejecting outright nearly all of Beijing’s significant maritime claims in the south china Sea.
In a move the officials say is expected as early as monday, the administration will present the decision as an attempt to curb China’s increasing assertiveness in the region with a commitment to recognizing international law. But it will almost certainly have the more immediate effect of further infuriating the Chinese, who are already retaliating against numerous US sanctions and other penalties on other matters. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. It will also come as President donald trump has come under growing fire for his response to the Covid-19 pandemic, stepped up criticism of china ahead of the 2020 election and sought to paint his expected Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, as weak on China.
Previously, US policy had been to insist that maritime disputes between china and its smaller neighbors be resolved peacefully through UN-backed arbitration. But in a statement prepared for release on monday, the administration plans to say the US now regards virtually all Chinese maritime claims outside its internationally recognized waters to be illegitimate. The shift does not involve disputes over land features that are above sea level, which are considered to be “territorial” in nature.