WASHINGTON
(AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday condemned China’s
effort to take over national security legislation in Hong Kong, calling
it “a death knell for the high degree of autonomy” that Beijing had
promised the territory.
Pompeo
called for Beiing to reconsider the move and warned of an unspecified
U.S. response if it proceeds. Meanwhile, White House economic adviser
Kevin Hassett said China risked a major flight of capital from Hong Kong
that would end the territory’s status as the financial hub of Asia.
Shortly afterward, the Commerce Department announced new restrictions on
sensitive exports to China.
The contentious measure, submitted Friday on the opening day of China’s national legislative session, is strongly opposed by pro-democracy lawmakers in semi-autonomous Hong Kong.
Pompeo called the proposal an effort to “unilaterally and arbitrarily impose national security legislation on Hong Kong.”
“Hong
Kong has flourished as a bastion of liberty. The United States strongly
urges Beijing to reconsider its disastrous proposal, abide by its
international obligations, and respect Hong Kong’s high degree of
autonomy, democratic institutions, and civil liberties, which are key to
preserving its special status under U.S. law,” Pompeo said in a
statement.
He
said the decision to ignore the will of the people of Hong Kong would be
a “death knell for the high degree of autonomy Beijing promised for
Hong Kong” under a decades-old agreement known as the Sino-British Joint
Declaration.
The
U.S. has limited leverage with China over Hong Kong but it could end
preferred economic privileges that Hong Kong currently enjoys if the
Trump administration determines that the declaration, which was supposed
to give the territory 50 years of special status after it reverted to
Chinese rule in 1997, has been violated.
The proposed bill
is aimed at forbidding secessionist and subversive activity, as well as
foreign interference and terrorism. It comes after months of
pro-democracy demonstrations last year that at times descended into
violence between police and protesters.
Speaking
in an interview with the Fox Business Network on Friday, Hassett
suggested the damage that would come from China’s proposal would be
mostly self-inflicted.
“They’re
going to see a lot of economic harm from what they’re doing,” he said,
adding that businesses would not want to invest or keep money “in a
place where they’re basically sneering at the rule of law.”
“And
so, I would expect that they’re going to have serious capital flight
problems,” Hassett said. “And Hong Kong, if they follow through this,
will no longer be the financial center of Asia, and they themselves will
bear very, very heavy costs.”
Later
Friday the Commerce Department struck yet another blow to Chinese
industry, announcing plans to bar the export of U.S. technology without a
license to 33 companies and government institutions including major
research labs.
It
accused two dozen of the targeted entities of threatening U.S. national
security because they could help China develop weapons. They include
China’s top cybersecurity company, Qihoo 360, the robotics and
artificial intelligence firm Cloudminds Inc., and various research
isntitutes involved in laser and other advanced technology.
The
other targets, named in a separate news release, included the Institute
of Forensic Science at China’s public security ministry and companies
that make facial recognition products. Commerce accused them of
complicity in human rights abuses targeting Uighurs and other ethnic
minorities.
The
restrictions compound previous sanctions the Trump administration
imposed on U.S. technology sales to Chinese companies involved in
supercomputer development, facial recognition and other areas the White
House deemed a threat to national security. That includes the technology
giant Huawei.
A
week ago, Commerce issued a new rule designed to bar foreign
semiconductor makers from making chips for Huawei that it has designed.
China
contends Washington is using national security as an excuse to try to
crush its rise as a global competitor in the tech sector.
Tech
expert Paul Triolo of the Eurasia Group political risk research firm
said it appeared from the list of new targets that the Commerce
Department was applying a rather sweeping definition of military
end-use.
“It’s
ratcheting up the pressure,” Triolo said of the newest sanctions. “I
keep thinking, ’What’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back here” and
provokes retaliation from Beijing against U.S. companies that do
business in China.
China
has threatened countermeasures against U.S. businesses — many of which
have major manufactoring operations in its territories— but so far has
held off.
———
Associated Press writer Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report,
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