China slammed and threatened to retaliate against the United States after President Donald Trump signed two new laws that expressed support to protesters in Hong Kong, calling it an interference in the internal affairs of the Asian superpower.
“”China firmly opposes Hong Kong Act. We have made stern representations & strong protests to the U.S.,” Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a briefing Friday. “It is a stark hegemonic practice & a severe interference in Hong Kong affairs, which are China’sChina’s internal affairs. China will take strong countermeasures.”
However, the Chinese official did not specify what he meant by strong “countermeasures,” and the retaliation seems uncertain up to this point.
On Wednesday, Trump signed two bills into law in support of the protesters in Hong Kong. The first law requires the State Department to annually certify that Hong Kong exercises enough state autonomy to retain special trade considerations in agreement with the United States. These trade considerations are very beneficial to Hong Kong’s economy, and losing these privileges would put the country’s financial and economic systems in jeopardy. The second law that Trump signed prohibits the sale of tear gas and rubber bullets to the Hong Kong police.
For the past few months, citizens in Hong Kong have been protesting against a new bill that allows the extradition of citizens to China. The Civil unrest has become violent, and many countries and organizations around the world have already expressed support to the Hong Kong protesters.
The move of the U.S. in support of the protesters is yet another roadblock to the long-overdue resolution of an intensifying trade war between the two superpowers when U.S. and China slapped each other with trade tariffs, and a trade deal is yet to be agreed upon. The new laws will most definitely affect future negotiations, which have since been stalled for different reasons.
