The Chinese foreign ministry’s arm in Hong Kong and the city government have slammed the latest edition of a US report on the local business environment, saying it continues to “maliciously smear and make unfounded and false accusations” against the national security law.
Advertisement
The US State Department issued its “2025 Investment Climate Statements” report two days ago covering more than 170 countries and economies, with the section on Hong Kong prompting the rebukes on Sunday.
The foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong said that Washington was repeating its old accusations and badmouthing the city.
“The US has hailed tariffs and sanctions, imposed restrictions on international trade, charged high fees on talent visas, and recklessly arrested staff of foreign enterprises. It has no right to comment on Hong Kong’s business environment,” a spokesman for the office said.
He noted that the United States’ trade surplus with Hong Kong had exceeded US$270 billion over the past decade, the highest among US trade partners.
Advertisement
“The US has repeatedly politicised and instrumentalised economic and trade issues, exaggerated the so-called risks facing foreign companies doing business in Hong Kong, and seriously interfered with and disrupted normal exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and the US,” the spokesman said.