Biden to warn US companies about doing business in Hong Kong

WASHINGTON – The Biden government is expected to offer blanket warnings to US firms about the risks of doing business in Hong Kong as China continues to crack down on political and economic freedoms in the area.

US officials say the recommendation could be released later this week. President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday that the warning would indicate deteriorating free market conditions in Hong Kong, once one of Asia’s major financial centers, and the potential for further erosion.

“The situation in Hong Kong is worsening and the Chinese government is not keeping its promise on how to deal with Hong Kong,” said Biden. “So it’s more of a recommendation of what could happen in Hong Kong, it’s so simple and so complicated.”

The United States has found, under both the Trump and Biden administrations, that Hong Kong no longer enjoys the significant autonomy from mainland China that Beijing had respected for 50 years since a new national security law was passed last year The former British colony took control in 1997.

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As such, Hong Kong no longer enjoys preferential US trade and trade privileges, and certain Hong Kong officials have been beaten with US sanctions for cracking down on democracy.

“We know that a healthy business world relies on the rule of law, which continues to undermine Hong Kong’s national security law,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday.

“In general, we want to ensure that companies around the world can operate in a stable, predictable and fair regulatory environment, and rule of law risks that were once confined to mainland China are becoming increasingly worrying in Hong Kong. This is very important to us. It is of great concern to the American business community. It’s of great importance to the international business community, ”he said.

The new warning would follow a similar notice issued earlier this week to remind American companies of possible sanctions if doing business with Chinese companies operating in the western region of Xinjiang, where China faces widespread repression against Uighur Muslims and other minorities.

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