US-China: Are Americans ready for a (costly) breakup?

The Commerce Department announces tighter standards for the export of some sensitive technology to China.

Members of Congress send a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo encouraging him to investigate the role of the Chinese Communist Party in what they say was a cover-up of the coronavirus’ origins and a disinformation campaign about the outbreak.

And President Donald Trump declares at a press conference that the United States will seek to require China to “pay big” for a pandemic that originated in China but spread globally to sicken millions, kill hundreds of thousands, and plunge the world into recession.

That’s just part of the evidence that the already testy relations between the world’s two superpowers have taken a sharp turn for the worse as a result of the outbreak.