Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is ending the preferential economic regime granted by the United States to Hong Kong and that he has also signed a law providing for sanctions against repression in Chinese territory. These measures respond to the imposition by China of a draconian national security law.
"Today, I signed a law and a decree to make accountable to China because of its repression of the population of Hong Kong", declared the American president at a disjointed press conference during from which he also repeatedly attacked his Democratic opponent Joe Biden. The Hong Kong Autonomy Law, approved unanimously by Congress, "gives my administration powerful new tools for holding individuals and entities accountable for the suppression of freedoms in Hong Kong", a stressed Mr. Trump.
"Hong Kong will be treated like China: no special privilege"
"I also signed a decree ending the preferential treatment for Hong Kong," he added. "Hong Kong will be treated like China: no special privileges, no special economic treatment and no exports of sensitive technologies," he said. The Republican billionaire said that Beijing's control over Hong Kong marked the end of the territory's economic power. "We have lost a very serious competitor," he added.
He also predicted a brain hemorrhage in Hong Kong. "Their freedom has been taken away from them (...), many people are going to leave."
Organized to announce these measures against China, Trump's press conference quickly turned into a campaign rally, less than four months before the November presidential poll. The American president, beaten by Joe Biden in the polls, accused the Democratic candidate of having been complacent towards China. "He never did anything except make very bad decisions," he said. "Especially in foreign policy".