China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday, “we will sanction US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the Taiwan visit.”

Key takeaways

"Ms. Pelosi had disregarded China’s concerns and resolute opposition to her visit to the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims."

"Ms. Pelosi was the highest-ranking US official to visit the self-governing island in 25 years. China claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes it having its own engagements with foreign governments."

"Ms. Pelosi’s visit is provocative and said it undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Sanctions would be imposed on Pelosi and her immediate family."

Market reaction

The Chinese proxy and high-beta currency, the AUD, has come under moderate selling pressure on escalating US-China tensions. AUD/USD is trading at 0.6952, down 0.23% so far, as of writing. The S&P 500 futures have erased gains and turned slightly negative on the day.