Mike Pompeo declares Hong Kong no longer autonomous from China
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo today told Congress that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China, bringing into doubt the region’s unique trading status.
In a statement, Pompeo said that due to China’s plan to impose new national security legislation on the city, “no reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground”.
As a result, he added, Hong Kong “does not continue to warrant treatment under United States laws in the same manner as U.S. laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1997.
“It is now clear that China is modelling Hong Kong after itself”.
The declaration could spell the end of the city-state’s status as one of the world’s pre-eminent financial centres, with the decision opening the door for Donald Trump to end some of its trading privileges if he so desires.
According to a law passed last year, the state department is required annually to certify whether the state retains enough independence from Beijing to maintain its favoured position.
However, the announcement of the new laws clamping down on Hong Kong, which many have interpreted as a response to last year’s pro-democracy protests, has led US officials to conclude that it no longer has such a status.
Thus far, the region has been exempt from the sanctions the White House has placed upon mainland China, but that could now change.
Business groups have repeatedly warned against such steps, which could severely damage an economic relationship which was worth $66bn in 2018, according to the Office of the US trade representative.
Pompeo’s statement comes after Trump warned yesterday that the US was working on a strong response to the Chinese clampdown.