BEIJING: China’s foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador on Thursday,urging Washington to refrain from applying a bill supporting Hong Kong’spro-democracy movement to “avoid further damage” to relations.
Chinese vice foreign minister Le Yucheng lodged a “strong protest” withAmbassador Terry Branstad after President Donald Trump signed thelegislation into law.
The passage of the bill comes as the world’s two biggest economies arelocked in negotiations to finalise a partial deal to soothe their trade war.
“Le stressed that China strongly urges the US side to correct mistakes andchange course,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Le also urged the United States to “refrain from putting the bill intopractice, and immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’sinternal affairs, so as to avoid further damage to China-US relations andbilateral cooperation in important areas”.
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act requires the US president toannually review the city’s favourable trade status and threatens to revokeit if the semi-autonomous territory’s freedoms are quashed.
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Trump also signed legislation banning sales of tear gas, rubber bullets andother equipment used by Hong Kong security forces in putting down theprotests.
In a statement about Branstad’s meeting with Le, a US embassy spokesmansaid: “The United States believes that Hong Kong’s autonomy, its adherenceto the rule of law, and its commitment to protecting civil liberties arekey to preserving its special status under US law.”
The Chinese Communist Party must honour “its promises to the Hong Kongpeople, who only want the freedoms and liberties” afforded to them underthe 1997 handover agreement between China and former colonial powerBritain, the statement said.
In an earlier statement Thursday the Chinese foreign ministry threatenedunspecified countermeasures over the US bill. -APP/AFP
