China reported on Tuesday five new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 13 – Reuters

Reuters reports that  China reported on Tuesday five new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 13, compared with eight cases a day earlier, the health authority said.

All of the new infections were imported cases, the National Health Commission said in a statement. There were no new deaths.

China also reported five new asymptomatic patients, down from six a day earlier.

As of July 13, mainland China had a total of 83,605 confirmed coronavirus cases, it said.

China's death toll from the coronavirus remained unchanged at 4,634.

China seas tensions alert markets

Meanwhile, markets are distracted by the latest ramping up of tensions over the China sea. 

Before now, the US had not taken sides on territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Last week, China and the US held naval exercises in the area at the same time - a rare phenomenon indicating rising tensions.

In the bigger context, the Trump administration has pledged to overturn what it says is 40 years of policy failure with regard to China. Washington has recently criticised Beijing on issues ranging from its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, to human rights violations against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and how it has dealt with pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

But it was China's land reclamation projects in the South China Sea that prompted the rest of the world to reassess Beijing's international ambitions.

And the stakes in the region are incredibly high,

the BBC reported. 

The AUD will trade as a proxy to these tensions.

More on this here: Chart of the Week: AUD/USD bears seeking a double top for H&S downside targets