SHANGHAI, July 14 (Reuters) - China stocks fell on Wednesday after two consecutive days of gains, as excitement from policy easing fades, and investors shift their attention to rising Sino-U.S. tensions. ** Hong Kong stocks also dipped amid gloomy mood across Asian markets, as the biggest jump in U.S. inflation in 13 years triggered fears of an earlier-than-expected U.S. monetary tapering. ** The CSI300 index fell 0.9% to 5,095.67 points by lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.8% to 3,537.26 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.6%. ** Mainland Chinese stocks had gained earlier this week, spurred by the central bank’s surprise cut in banks’ required reserve ratio (RRR) announced late on Friday. People’s Bank of China said on Tuesday that the move has not altered its prudent monetary policy stance. ** The 50-basis-point RRR cut and fiscal support, “are unlikely sufficient to reverse the growth downtrend, as the drag from the slowing property sector is too strong to fully offset,” wrote Ting Lu, Nomura’s Chief China Economist. ** Meanwhile, the U.S. government on Tuesday strengthened its warnings to businesses about the growing risks of having supply chain and investment links to China’s Xinjiang region, citing forced labour and human rights abuses there. ** “I am watching for any indication that a serious correction is developing,” said Bill Witherell, chief global economist at Cumberland Advisors. “Deteriorating China-US financial relations certainly could trigger one.” ** Lynda Zhou, Shanghai-based fund manager at Fidelity International, said she expected rising volatility in China’s onshore stock market, and also cautioned against the negative impact from an expected U.S. tapering. ** China’s financial stocks fell nearly 2%, as investors worry government efforts to push down real lending rates, and slowing economic growth would hurt margins. ** China’s new energy sector slumped over 2% on profit-taking. Electric-car maker BYD tumbled 5.8%, and 4.9% in China and Hong Kong respectively. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.