Trump administration to bar Chinese passenger carriers from flying to U.S

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza look on during a signing ceremony for the "Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act," approving additional coronavirus disease (COVID-19) relief for the U.S. economy and hospitals treating people sickened by the pandemic, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday barred Chinese passenger carriers from flying to the United States starting on June 16 as it pressures Beijing to let U.S. air carriers resume flights amid simmering tensions between the world's two largest economies.

The move, announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation, penalizes China for failing to comply with an existing agreement on flights between the two countries. U.S.-Chinese relations have soured in recent months amid tensions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and Beijing's move to impose new national security legislation for Hong Kong.