https://apnews.com/1de13a753c7f34d9ee4d25c93a755486

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has launched a major diplomatic and economic offensive against China, hitting Chinese officials with myriad sanctions over the past four months as relations between Washington and Beijing plummet to their lowest levels in decades.

President Donald Trump and his top aides have railed against China for its response to the coronavirus pandemic that began there, looking to make political hay ahead of November's election. But the administration's hostility toward China predates the pandemic. Even while Trump played up his relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, calling him “a very, very good friend of mine," his administration has been taking aim at China on multiple fronts since mid-2019.