Photo taken on Aug. 27, 2019 shows the scenery of the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, South China. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

China will not re-route trade with the US that currently passes through Hong Kong to Chinese mainland ports, as that may undercut Hong Kong's standing in the global trade system without helping solve China-US trade problems, experts said on Wednesday.

"Whether to import commodities from the US via Hong Kong or mainland ports is a choice made by individual companies and the central government can't decide," Mei Xinyu, an expert close to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"If [re-routing] happened, it would mean Hong Kong's standing in the international trade system has been shaken from the roots. But the central government will not let this happen because Hong Kong, as a transshipping center, acts as a gateway to the mainland," Mei said.

The comment came after Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that China is considering re-routing trade through Hong Kong to mainland ports in a bid to count the amount of US shipments going through Hong Kong as part of its trade with the US, citing people familiar with the matter.

"The so-called intention of China in the report is disinformation," Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times.

Some companies choose to transship commodities through Hong Kong because the path is much easier, with fewer restrictions, Gao said, noting that it's unreasonable for these companies to abandon the easier path.

"The US would not agree with such an arrangement, as the US can't benefit from it at all," Gao said.

China and the US have agreed on the text of a phase one trade agreement based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, according to a statement issued by the Chinese side on Friday.

Chinese enterprises will import more high-quality and competitive goods and services from countries and regions including the US under WTO rules as well as market rules and business principles, Chinese officials said.

The MOFCOM did not reply to a Global Times inquiry as of press time Wednesday.
Newspaper headline: China will not re-route US imports through HK to mainland ports