Hong Kong; Sanctions and visa restrictions; Huawei; Mask bubble pops; TikTok

Thursday is Q2 GDP day, expect the official data to show somewhere between 1-3% growth.

On Wednesday President Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act that among other things may lead to sanctions, and an executive order that will have the US effectively treating Hong Kong as it treats the PRC.

Today the US State Department announced visa restrictions on “certain employees of Chinese technology companies that provide material support to regimes engaging in human rights abuses globally”, and only mentioned Huawei by name.

It is shaping up to be a summer of US sanctions and visa restrictions against the PRC. So far the Chinese government has been fairly restrained in their substantive responses to US actions. When and how might that change? Has the leadership decided to absorb the blows for now in the hopes that the November election may bring a different US approach to China by early 2021? Or are they not yet sure how to react, and perhaps will have a better plan for responding by mid-A…