The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today expressed strong opposition to sweeping remarks contained in the so-called US Department of State’s Hong Kong Policy Act Report.

In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said that such remarks misrepresented the constitutional relationship between the Hong Kong SAR and the Central authorities, smeared the implementation of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong and interfered in the city's internal affairs.

In response to media enquiries about the special status or differential treatment under US law or sanctions to be applied to Hong Kong, the statement noted that Hong Kong's separate customs territory status is enshrined in the Basic Law and the SAR Government shall continue to pursue the policy of free trade.

As a separate member of the World Trade Organization, Hong Kong expects to be treated fairly by its trading partners, it added.

The threat of sanctions to achieve the purpose of interfering with the policy of another place is a violation of international law and international practice, the statement explained, noting that any sanctions are a double-edged sword that will not only harm the interests of Hong Kong but also significantly those of the US.

In the past decade, the US' trade surplus with Hong Kong has been the biggest among all its trading partners, with merchandise trade surplus totalling US$297 billion from 2009 to 2018. In 2019, that surplus came down from US$31.4 billion in the preceding year to US$26.4 billion as a result of US-China trade tensions.

The statement pointed out that should any sanctions be contemplated in other areas like services and investment, the interests of the 1,300 US corporations based in Hong Kong might further be affected.

The SAR Government hopes that the US Government would adopt a pragmatic attitude, and would, bearing in mind US' own interests in Hong Kong, refrain from interfering with the internal affairs of the nation and Hong Kong, and maintain its economic and trade policy towards the city, the statement added.