The bill passed through Congress with unanimous consent, highlighting how Trump's more aggressive posture toward China has become a point of bipartisan favor - even Joe Biden has suffered a political toll for his friendly rhetoric. A chorus of western countries has criticized China's move to curtail political freedoms, including speech and assembly, labeling it "terrorism" and "secessionist".

Update (1715ET): As we wait for Trump to take the podium, media reports are claiming that Trump is planning to announce that he's signing the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, a bipartisan measure to penalize banks that work with Chinese officials found to be interfering in Hong Kong affairs.

It's essentially sanctions-lite for CCP officials involved with enforcing the new Hong Kong national security law that prompted Sec Pompeo to declare that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous.

One day after the State Department announced that the US would no longer recognize the South China Sea as Chinese territory, President Trump is holding his first press briefing in weeks, purportedly to discuss these latest actions against China.