Beijing slams Biden for extending US’ ‘emergency status’ of Hong Kong

“We want to tell the United States that it should end its persecution fantasy.”

Biden renewed Hong Kong’s “emergency status” on Wednesday and announced his decision to the public and Congress.

The executive order revokes special trade privileges the US had granted Hong Kong based on the determination that the city “is no longer sufficiently autonomous to justify differential treatment in relation to the People’s Republic of China”.

Under terms of the order, Hong Kong no longer receives special economic treatment, nor can sensitive technology be exported to the city. Holders of Hong Kong passports also face the same restrictions as travellers who possess mainland Chinese ones.

“The situation with respect to Hong Kong, including recent actions taken by the People’s Republic of China to fundamentally undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States,” Biden said in his statement.

The spokesman accused Washington of falsely claiming that the situation in Hong Kong posed a threat to American national security, foreign policy and the economy, saying such a characterisation demonstrated the US’ worsening “persecution fantasy”.

“The United States continues to use its domestic laws as a way to place unreasonable unilateral sanctions on Hong Kong, which exposes its nature of being outwardly tough and a coward inside,” he said.

“Its sinister plan of ‘containing China through Hong Kong’ is doomed to fail.”

Since the protests in 2019 and the introduction of new national security laws in the city, the American government has repeatedly hit out against Beijing and the Hong Kong government.

The extension of the executive order also comes ahead of the US presidential election in November, which could signal a return to more confrontational bilateral relations if Trump defeats Biden.