According to US State Department figures, 102,000 - 13% - fewer residents of mainland China were issued US visas in the period May-September 2018 vs. the same period in 2017.

Also China-USA airline reservations were down 42% in the first week of October.

Independent analysts echo the explanation offered by a Trump Administration spokesperson: the Chinese government is using tourism as a weapon to retaliate against US tariffs on Chinese goods - because those tariffs are hurting China much more than Chinese tariffs on US goods are hurting the USA.

Absent some resolution of trade issues between Presidents Trump and Xi, and If the dropoff in US inbound from China increases, expect to see an expansion of US tariffs across more classes of Chinese goods.

Stay tuned.