Lee, who is in Malaysia, was on Friday night asked several times by the media about his stance as he wrapped up a week-long trip to three Southeast Asian countries.

He said he expected the host country to act in accordance with the Apec “rules, guidelines and conventions” and send invitations to all member economies, including Hong Kong.

“I’ve answered the question again and again and my position is very clear. It’s up to the host country to do what they should do and Hong Kong will always follow the protocols and do what we should do,” Lee added.

“We are an open economy that respects rules and I expect everybody to play according to the rules.”

Lee refused to comment on whether another city official would go to San Francisco if he was frozen out but suggested the city would be represented.

“Hong Kong will participate in the Apec meeting in accordance with these rules,” he said.

Two government sources said the chief executive still felt there was “room to bargain”, especially as the White House had not confirmed the report.

“A soft-worded response [by Lee] will give all sides some leeway as US-China tensions may de-escalate in the coming months,” one said.

A US State Department spokesman late on Friday night said: “As we have previously said, the participation of all delegations in Apec events will be in accordance with US laws and regulations and on the basis of the spirit and principles of Apec.”

He added the US would work to ensure “appropriate participation in San Francisco”.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier criticised the US for “making mistakes on top of one another” if it banned the Hong Kong chief from the summit based on “unlawful and unreasonable” sanctions on him.

“China will firmly safeguard the legitimate and legal right of Hong Kong, China, to participate in the Apec summit,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

US State Department walks back Apec invite for Hong Kong leader

She added that the US had “flagrantly violated the Apec rules and seriously broken the US commitment to hold the meeting” and that a protest had been lodged.

“We demand that the US side immediately correct its wrong practices, lift the sanctions on Chief Executive John Lee and other Hong Kong officials … and invite the chief executive to attend the summit,” Mao said.

Lee’s Apec participation has been a closely watched topic by media worldwide amid tensions between China and the US.

Two US Democrats, Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Jim McGovern, and two Republicans, Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Chris Smith, earlier this month wrote an open letter demanding Secretary of State Antony Blinken ban Lee from US soil.

The State Department said late on Friday that it looked forward to welcoming officials from all 21 Apec economies at meetings of the body in August and expected “the same for Apec Economic Leaders’ Week in San Francisco”.

People familiar with the handling of Hong Kong’s response said they were “not nervous” about the Friday media report because they believed Washington had not made a final decision. A non-confrontational response would give both sides leeway to resolve the controversy, a source said.

The State Department last month said: “No decisions about invitations have been made”.

Lee in May said the Hong Kong government would attend the summit under Apec rules and customs.

Lau Siu-kai, a consultant at semi-official think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said the reported ban was probably down to the US presidential and congressional election cycles.

He said he expected that Lee’s arrival in November, the month of the US presidential election, might stir up anti-China sentiment in the country.

“I don’t believe Chinese authorities would approve of Hong Kong sending a second person to Apec,” Lau said.

US must ‘act in accordance with conventions’, invite Hong Kong to Apec: Lee

Hong Kong’s former representative on the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the country’s top legislative body, also condemned the reported ban.

“There is this possibility. Otherwise, the newspaper wouldn’t have written about it. But, in my opinion, the current US policy is mercurial and often contradicts itself,” he told a radio programme.

“In fact, people are not going to a meeting led by the US, but an international summit. The ban is out of order.”

Tam, who was sanctioned by Washington in 2021, emphasised Beijing and Hong Kong would oppose the decision and asked the city’s government to discuss countermeasures with central authorities.

Benson Wong Wai-kwok, a retired assistant professor of political science at Baptist University, said the reported ban suggested that Lee’s participation might be of no substantial help in improving US-China relations.

“Hong Kong is only one of the issues between the US and China, but is definitely not the most pressing one compared with others such as infiltration, conflicts on trade and microchips,” he said.

“It also signals that the privilege Hong Kong enjoyed in previous administrations has diminished.”

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this month passed a bill to close the three Hong Kong economic and trade offices in Washington, New York and San Francisco.

The proposed legislation is expected to go to a meeting of the full Senate for a vote.

The privileges of the US Hong Kong offices include the ability to buy and sell property, as well as immunity from legal action, search and every form of the judicial process “as is enjoyed by foreign governments”.