China vows retaliation against US over Hong Kong sanctions

China has said it would retaliate after US President Donald Trump ordered an end to preferential trade treatment for Hong Kong and signed legislation allowing sanctions over Beijing’s enactment of a draconian security law in the semi-autonomous city.
In a statement on Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry said it “firmly opposes and strongly condemns” the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which unanimously passed the US Congress earlier this month and approves sanctions on Chinese officials and banks over Beijing’s clampdown in Hong Kong.
“China will make necessary responses to protect its legitimate interests, and impose sanctions on relevant US personnel and entities,” the ministry added, without elaborating.
The Chinese warning came amid mounting tensions with the United States – not just over Hong Kong – but also over trade, the global coronavirus pandemic, China’s military buildup in the South China Sea and its treatment of Uighur Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang.

Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu reports from Beijing.

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