Two U.S. warships sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Monday, a U.S. official told Reuters, a move likely to anger Beijing at a time of tense relations between the world’s two biggest economies.
Beijing and Washington are locked in a trade war and the two sides are trying to hammer out a deal ahead of a March 1 deadline when U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are scheduled to increase to 25 percent from 10 percent.
Escalating tensions between the United States and China have cost both countries billions of dollars and roiled global financial markets.
Fears have grown in recent months that the U.S.-China trade dispute is just one element in a bilateral relationship that is fast cooling across the board, with top U.S. administration officials sharply criticizing Beijing for everything from human rights abuses to cyber espionage in the United States.
The two countries are also at odds over regional security, including Washington’s overtures to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own.