Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday condemned a bill passed by the US Congress to support pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, saying it "encourages violent criminals" and aims to "create chaos and even destroy Hong Kong."
He said during a meeting with former US Secretary of Defense William Cohen in Beijing that the draft "blatant interference in China's internal affairs," according to a statement of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
China will never allow any attempts to harm Hong Kong's prosperity and stability or harm the "one country, two systems" model, Wang said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also warned that the country is ready to respond firmly to the US move with unspecified measures.
On Tuesday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu summoned William Klein, the acting charge d'affaires of the US Embassy, to formally protest the text.
The deputy foreign minister told the US diplomat that the situation in Hong Kong was part of China's internal affairs and called on the United States to stop its intervention, the ministry said.
The US House of Representatives passed 417 votes to one against yesterday a bill in support of human rights and democracy in Hong Kong, the day after the Senate unanimously approved it.
Under the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, the president will annually review Hong Kong's trade privileges, which exclude it from US sanctions, and threaten to abolish them in case of human rights violations.
Congress also passed a law banning the sale of tear gas, rubber bullets and other equipment used by Hong Kong's security forces to quell the six-month-old protests.
The White House has not threatened to veto the bill, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill, according to an informed source.