Top Chinese legislators and veteran observers of Hong Kong affairs said they are not surprised to see the US president sign the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which is considered "a piece of scrap paper" by the Chinese government. Observers said that Washington is shooting itself in the foot through the move, which only has "symbolic effect," adding that the top authority in China has made full consideration of the worst case scenarios amid deteriorating China-US ties. 

US President Donald Trump said he signed the legislation and executive order to impose sanctions on Chinese officials related to the national security law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and end the region's special status, which "will now be treated the same as the Chinese mainland," he was quoted as saying in media reports. 

The act was introduced to Congress on July 1, will impose sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that materially contribute to China's "failure to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy," and would allow the US president to impose property-blocking sanctions on an individual or entity, visa-blocking sanctions on a named individual, and prohibit a financial institution from receiving loans from a US financial institution.

The executive order aims to end preferential treatment for Hong Kong, including revoking export licenses of high technology, and is part of Washington's choreographed efforts to respond to the recent passage of the national security law for Hong Kong, experts said. 

Tam Yiu Chung, a member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee who took part in the formulation and consultation on the national security law, told the Global Times that the US moves have been foreseen. Asked if he was worried about possible sanctions against Chinese officials connected to HKSAR affairs, including himself, Tam said, "The central government has made full preparations."

China strongly opposes the Hong Kong Autonomy Act signed by the US government, which is a blatant interference in China's internal affairs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday after the bill was signed into law. "China will take necessary response to it if the US won't correct its mistake, and impose sanctions on relevant US personnel and entities," the statement said. 

China's Foreign Ministry earlier reiterated that any attempt to interfere in Hong Kong affairs and obstruct the national security law are doomed to fail, calling the Hong Kong Autonomy Act nothing but "a piece of scrap paper."

"The Hong Kong Autonomy Act is actually driven by Congress, showing that Trump's decision-making process has already been kidnapped by congressmen like Nancy Pelosi," Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan studies at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

After the national security law for Hong Kong was enacted on June 30, the US has not stopped playing the Hong Kong card in suppressing the Chinese government, Li said. "The Chinese side won't take any initiative in imposing sanctions. We are taking countermeasures based on the cards Washington plays," Li said, noting that the real impact of the US measures is very limited.