(Bloomberg) --
China accused the U.S. of undermining bilateral relations and said its comments regarding Hong Kong “disregarded facts,” days after President Donald Trump moved to rescind the city's special trading status.
“The U.S. leadership's allegations against China show a total disregard of facts. The measures announced gravely interfere with China's internal affairs and undermine bilateral relations and will be detrimental to both sides. China is firmly opposed to them,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a daily media briefing in Beijing Monday. “Any words or actions by the U.S. that hurt China's interests will be met with firm counterattacks.”
Zhao also criticized Trump's decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization, calling the U.S. a “habitual quitter” whose behavior was “selfish and irresponsible.” Trump announced both moves at a Friday news conference at the White House.
Zhao's comments came after China's legislature last week approved a plan to enact sweeping national security legislation in Hong Kong, a move that has raised concerns about the Asian financial hub's future autonomy from the mainland and led to the return of protesters to its streets. He repeated that Beijing opposed “external interference” in the semi-autonomous financial hub.
Relations between the world's two biggest economies have worsened in recent weeks, with tensions rising on fronts ranging from the early handling of the coronavirus pandemic to the adding of 33 Chinese firms to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Entity List, which restricts access to U.S. technology. Trump also said he would limit visas for certain Chinese students.
Trump's China Announcement Leaves Room to De-Escalate Tensions
“The U.S. has been purposely oppressing Chinese companies for no good reason other than a far-fetched excuse of national security. Now it is threatening U.S. listed Chinese companies with investigations and Chinese overseas students with visa restrictions,” Zhao said. This “will further undercut the social foundation for China-U.S. economic relations and the overall relationship.”
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said Sunday that the U.S. now has no basis to treat Hong Kong more favorably than mainland China, as Beijing moved to pass a bill to curb the region's freedom.
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With assistance from Bloomberg
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