https://ift.tt/twxXlHM experts say the confrontation between the U.S. and China over a suspected spy balloon is spilling into the economic sphere as investors express concerns about the future of U.S.-China trade and a growing number of U.S. lawmakers and officials push for a tougher stance against Beijing, starting with faster action on economic issues.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo on Tuesday warned China and companies in China that they will face action by the U.S. and its allies if they help Russia evade sanctions.
“Fundamentally, we think, like other jurisdictions, China has to make choices about what they are willing to do, whether they want to be part of the global system that represents 50% of the global economy or whether they want to strengthen their ties with Russia,” Adeyemo said at an event in Washington.
The U.S. first detected the balloon over Alaska on January 28. The balloon drifted east into Canada and then back into the U.S. China claimed it was a weather balloon, not a spy craft, but the U.S. shot it down on February 4 over the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina.
U.S. fighter jets detected and shot down three more airborne objects between February 9 and 12.
The U.S. Commerce Department subsequently blacklisted six Chinese entities linked to the Chinese balloon program and, on February 16, China responded with sanctions on two U.S. defense contractors.
Gary Hufbauer, trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the two countries remain motivated to maintain economic and trade relations, but the strained bilateral relations pose challenges.
Hufbauer told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview on February 21 that, “the strength of the economic ties was much stronger than the negative political tension between the two countries. However, if relations get much worse than they are now, the political forces will be stronger than the economic forces.”