China US Photo: GT

Signing into law the so-called Hong Kong Autonomy Act indicates that the game between China and the US has turned into a "hand-to-hand combat" on Hong Kong affairs, which will force China to be more resolute in countering the US, and more intolerant to Hong Kong opposition forces' actions that may violate the national security law for Hong Kong, analysts said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the Chinese government firmly opposes the Act and strongly condemns it, and China will impose sanctions on relevant US personnel and entities to safeguard China's legitimate interests. 

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which imposes sanctions on what it calls 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 sanctions on a named individual, and prohibit a financial institution from receiving loans from a US financial institution.

Trump also signed an executive order to end the special status of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) with the US. The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday that any so-called "sanctions" by the US will never shake the firm determination of the Chinese government to safeguard the national sovereignty, security and development interests, as well as the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. The national security law for Hong Kong will be strictly enforced, and any activity endangering national security, regardless of  support by external forces, will be punished in accordance with the law.

In response to US new move, the HKSAR government said it will fully cooperate with the countermeasures to be taken by the central government, and will not allow US hegemony to succeed. 

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in an interview with the Xinhua News Agency that she does not worry about the US sanctions. 

Hong Kong's relationship with the US is two-way, and Hong Kong's status as an international financial center was not given by the US. On the contrary, American financial institutions have a large stake in Hong Kong's capital market, and financial sanctions on Hong Kong will hurt US firms, Lam said.

According to the Act, the US administration has 90 days to identify Chinese officials to be sanctioned, and must impose sanctions on designated individuals and entities within a year. 

But other previous Hong Kong-related legislation had no such strict requirements, which shows Hong Kong affairs has become a "hand-to-hand combat" between China and the US, Tang Fei, a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

The US has treated China as a bitter rival, and its interference in Hong Kong affairs has reached a level that it meddles in every issue related to the city, Tang said. For example, on the so-called primaries of the Hong Kong opposition forces which the Chinese government called a violation of law, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immediately expressed his congratulations to Hong Kong opposition for holding the "primaries."

The US pressing China step by step will force China to become more resolute in resisting its threat, and more intolerant in Hong Kong opposition forces' actions that may violate the national security law for Hong Kong, Tang said. 

Hong Kong officials believe the US sanctions will have no impact on them.  

Hong Kong File Photo

Tam Yiu Chung, a member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee from Hong Kong who took part in the formulation and consultations 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."

He also told the Global Times in an earlier interview that the US sanctions won't have any impact on him, as he has no plans to go to the US. 

John Lee Ka-chiu, Hong Kong Secretary for Security, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that the US moves are politicized, and are aimed at containing the rise of China. 

"The national security law for Hong Kong just gives the US another excuse to attack China," he said. 

 "I strongly oppose politics going beyond the rule of law, and the US using the national security law to blatantly interfere in Hong Kong affairs," Lee said. 

"We are not afraid [of sanctions] as we are doing the right thing," he said. 

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

The Act, the latest move of the US' troublemaking policy and a piece of waste paper in its effect, speaks of the US' goal to decouple from China in key fields, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

The US, abandoning its vague position in issues involving the South China Sea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, turned straightforward in confronting China, Li said. 

The US also attempted to use Hong Kong affairs as a catalyst to restructure its relations with its allies, in order to restructure the international order, Li said.  

On China's possible countermeasures, Chinese analysts said China may impose reciprocal visa restrictions and freeze the assets of some US officials. 

The sponsors of the act, Senators Chris Van Hollen and Pat Toomey, are very likely to be on China's sanctions list, and Pelosi, who once described Hong Kong riots as a "beautiful sight," may also be on the list, analysts said. 

Also on the list could be some people from the US consulate general in Hong Kong, such as Julie Eadeh, its political unit chief, who frequently met with leaders of Hong Kong rioters like Joshua Wong and Martin Lee Chu-ming, Li Haidong said.