BANGKOK – Shares fell Friday in Asia as investors awaited a news conference about China by President Donald Trump later in the day.
Benchmarks declined in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney but rose in Shanghai. U.S. and Chinese officials have been trading harsh rhetoric recently on everything from Hong Kong to the response to the coronavirus outbreak.
One fear is that further friction could lead to another punishing round of escalating tariffs between the two countries that would hit the global economy when it’s already in a severe recession due to the coronavirus pandemic.
China’s National People’s Congress on Thursday approved a national security law aimed at suppressing secessionist and subversive activity in Hong Kong, overriding any