Hong Kong file photo

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government strongly opposed the US plan to restrict the capital investment in semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technology, and AI systems in China, including its HKSAR region, a spokesperson of the HKSAR said on Tuesday.

This deliberate move, under various pretexts due to political interests, disrupts normal investment and trade activities, and undermines the free market and economic order, the spokesperson said, warning that the US will suffer the consequences, especially the trade surplus it has earned from bilateral trade with Hong Kong for many years.

The Biden administration said on Monday it is finalizing rules that limit US investments in artificial intelligence and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security, Reuters reported.

The rules, which were proposed in June by the US Treasury, were directed by an executive order signed by the US President Joe Biden in August 2023 covering three key sectors - semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems, according to the report. 

The final rule will become effective on January 2, 2025.

The HKSAR spokesman said that in 2023, the US was Hong Kong's third largest trading partner, with total bilateral merchandise trade reaching HK$472.2 billion ($60.3 billion). At the same time, HKSAR is the 27th largest trading partner of the US.

Moreover, the US's trade surplus with HKSAR has reached $271.5 billion over the past 10 years, the highest among its global trading partners. These figures illustrate the close economic interaction between the HKSAR and the US, and American companies have huge business interests in Hong Kong, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson stressed that the US has once again shown that its politicians undermine normal investment and trade, free markets and economic order in order to pursue their own political interests.

The so-called restrictions not only undermine the normal commercial activities, but also affect the stability of the global supply chain, harm their own interests and commercial interests of American companies, and affect bilateral economic activities, the HKSAR spokesperson noted. 

Such moves are political maneuver that harm others and American companies, and the HKSAR government will work with the central government to safeguard national interests and protect the interests of Hong Kong enterprises, the spokesperson further noted.

Global Times