American businesses will lose big if stability of Hong Kong is threatened

Note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language "Commentaries on International Affairs".

Some members of the United States Congress have been trying to re-introduce the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. The act requires the American government to issue an annual certification of Hong Kong's autonomy to justify the special treatment afforded to Hong Kong by the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 regarding trade. This gross intervention in China's internal affairs and the attempt to disrupt civil society in Hong Kong will lead to negative outcomes for everyone involved, including the United States.

A view of Hong Kong [File photo: IC]

As one of China's special administrative regions, Hong Kong is governed according to the principle of "one country, two systems", and it has enjoyed a high degree of autonomy since its return to China in 1997. The human rights of Hong Kong people are enshrined in laws and regulations including the Basic Law and the bill of rights ordinance. Hong Kong residents self-evidently enjoy a wide range of freedoms that don't require "certification" by the United States.

The Hong Kong Policy Act is nothing but a means by the American government to interfere in China's internal affairs. It does this through its annual reports on Hong Kong. The reports stopped for several years after the act expired in 2006. However, the reports resurfaced one year after the illegal Occupy Central incident in 2014. Against the backdrop of escalating trade tensions between China and the United States, it's clear that the real purpose of re-introducing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act is to use its trade policies with Hong Kong as a bargaining chip to exert pressure on China.

As one of Hong Kong's major trading partners, a prosperous and stable Hong Kong is in the interests of the United States. It has been with Hong Kong that the United States has accumulated the largest trade surplus since 2009, with the surplus in trade of goods amounting to 297 billion U.S. dollars. Its direct investment in Hong Kong surpassed 81 billion U.S. dollars in 2017. American businesses will be the losers if the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and its business environment come under threat.

China's government will never allow external forces to interfere in the affairs of Hong Kong, because they are China's internal affairs. The best thing that American politicians can do for Hong Kong is work towards boosting mutual trust and cooperation between China and the United States.