China slaps sanctions on US over Hong Kong unrest

China suspended US warship visits and sanctioned American NGOs on Monday in retaliation for the passage of a bill backing pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

Last week US President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which requires the president to annually review the city’s favourable trade status and threatens to revoke it if the semi-autonomous territory’s freedoms are quashed.

China had already denied requests for two US Navy ships to dock in Hong Kong in August, without specifying a reason why.

Sanctions will apply to NGOs that had acted “badly” over the recent unrest in Hong Kong, she said, including the National Endowment for Democracy, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House.

The city’s finance chief warned Monday that Hong Kong is set to record its first budget deficit in 15 years.

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Article source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb//Business/International/2019/Dec-02/496654-china-slaps-sanctions-on-us-over-hong-kong-unrest.ashx