China dismisses US warning on Hong Kong as ‘pure nonsense’

HONG KONG – China dismissed U.S. warnings about the risk of doing business in Hong Kong as “pure nonsense,” saying sanctions won’t change its determination to safeguard national security.

In similar statements Saturday, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and Hong Kong Liaison Office condemned U.S. President Joe Biden’s advisory that said China’s push to exert more control over the financial hub threatens the rule of law and endangers employees and data. The U.S. also sanctioned seven officials in China’s liaison office in Hong Kong.

In response to the U.S. singling out Hong Kong’s National Security Law, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office spokesman said the law has provided a sound social environment for the city’s economic development. It cited higher IPO fund-raising and bank deposits as signs of investor confidence over the past year.

The comments follow an earlier rebuke from the Hong Kong government, which said the U.S. warning is based on “totally ridiculous and unfounded fear-mongering.”

“The main victims of this latest fallout will sadly be those U.S. businesses and U.S. citizens who have taken Hong Kong as their home,” a government spokesman said in a statement.