Hong Kong added to Beijing's list of 'core interests' amid post-Occupy unease
City raised as key national issue in Sino-US talks in sign of post-Occupy unease in the capital
Hong Kong has been named publicly as one of China's "core interests and key concerns" in a veiled warning from Beijing to Washington over territorial issues.
The rare reference surfaced in a military-to-military meeting in Beijing on Tuesday between PLA deputy chief of general staff Sun Jianguo and US undersecretary of defence for intelligence Michael Vickers, the PLA Daily reported.
Mainland analysts and Hong Kong politicians said the remarks signalled higher concern in the capital about US interference in Hong Kong since the Occupy Central protests.
In listing the core matters, Sun mentioned Hong Kong after Taiwan, but before the East and South China seas and cybersecurity, the report said. "The US should earnestly respect China's core interests and key concerns," Sun was quoted as saying.
His remarks follow repeated claims from mainland media and Hong Kong officials that "foreign forces" had meddled in the city's politics. US President Barack Obama said in November that the US had no role in the protests, but called for transparent and fair elections in Hong Kong.
In a white paper in 2011, Beijing defined its core interests as national sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity, national unity, stability of its political system and society in line with its constitution, and sustainable socio-economic development.
Renmin University international relations specialist Jin Canrong said Sun's remarks indicated that "China does not trust the US, and believes the US is involved in Occupy Central".