Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin of Chinese highly influential media outlet, Global Times, said on Saturday, via Twitter, 'if Australian troops come to fight in the Taiwan Straits, it is unimaginable that China won't carry out a heavy attack on them and the Australian military facilities that support them.”

“So Australia (had) better be prepared to sacrifice for Taiwan island and the US,” he added.

This comes in response to the Financial Times (FT) article, citing that Australia is ready to help the US defend Taiwan from Chinese attacks.

Market reaction

AUD/USD is unperturbed by these Chinese threatening messages, keeping its range near-daily highs of 0.7346, up 0.13% on the day.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 futures trade almost unchanged on the day. All eyes remain on the Biden-Xi virtual meeting due later this Monday.