Joe Biden confirms that warning to US businesses in Hong Kong will come on Friday
- ‘The situation in Hong Kong is deteriorating and the Chinese government is not keeping its commitment it made on dealing with Hong Kong,’ the US president says
- Speaking at a press conference with German leader Angela Merkel, he says their nations ‘will stand up for democratic principles and universal rights’
“Let me talk about the business advisory,” Biden said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, after he was asked for details about the warning his administration was reported to be issuing “tomorrow”.
“The situation in Hong Kong is deteriorating and the Chinese government is not keeping its commitment that it made [about] how it would deal with Hong Kong,” Biden said. “And so it is more of an advisory as to what may happen in Hong Kong. It’s as simple as that and as complicated as that.”
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Alongside the business advisory, the Biden administration is expected to issue on Friday fresh sanctions against individuals over the situation in Hong Kong, according to a source familiar with the plans.
The sanctions will target previously unsanctioned individuals, said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
Biden made no mention of the new sanctions or any other specific Hong Kong-related policy action on Thursday.
Both the advisory and the sanctions were first reported by the Financial Times. According to the newspaper, the business advisory is set to highlight China’s ability to access data stored by companies in Hong Kong, as well as the risk of being targeted by a new Chinese law that could punish firms for complying with sanctions by foreign governments.
The Biden administration has largely maintained – or in some cases, such as the advisory, escalated – many of the pressure points enacted under former US president Donald Trump.
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The emergency declaration, which grants the president sweeping sanctioning powers, came one year after Beijing forced a sweeping national security law upon Hong Kong, legislation that critics say has further chipped away at the city’s autonomy and undermined its rule of law.
Barely two months into Biden’s presidency, his administration issued sanctions against 24 Chinese officials over what it described as efforts to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, including a drastic overhaul of the city’s electoral system. Enacted under the authority of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, the sanctions also target any foreign financial institution that does business with the blacklisted individuals.
Beijing routinely rejects criticism from Western countries of its handling of Hong Kong, dismissing concerns about the impact of the national security law on Hong Kong’s rule of law as attempts to interfere in China’s internal affairs.
Asked about the upcoming business advisory this week, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the move was “a typical case of political manipulation and hypocrisy”.
“Hong Kong’s Basic Law and other relevant laws clearly protect the rights and interests of foreign investors,” Zhao said, referring to the city’s mini-constitution.
Such claims have done little to assuage the concerns of a number of Western nations, including the US.
“A healthy business community relies on the rule of law, which the national security law that applies to Hong Kong continues to undermine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday. “Rule of law risks that were formerly limited to mainland China are now increasingly a concern in Hong Kong. That’s of great concern to us.”
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Earlier in Thursday’s briefing, Biden referenced China first in an affirmation of solidarity with Germany in a new “Washington Declaration”, a document meant to codify cooperation in formulating policies meant to confront threats to democracy”.
“Both our nations understand the imperative of proving that democracies can deliver the needs of our people in the second quarter of the 21st century,” Biden said. “We will stand up for democratic principles and universal rights when we see China or any other country working to undermine free and open societies.”
