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Hands tied by Hong Kong democracy act, Donald Trump sends signal to Beijing on trade
- US president suggests that implementation of new laws could be at his discretion – in return for trade deal, analyst says
- China could put off interim agreement but it has ‘few cards to play other than protesting’
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When US President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act on Wednesday, he seemingly ignored threats from China about retaliation.
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But he also suggested that signing the bill and enacting it are two different matters.
China reacted to the signing with the expected anger and outrage on Thursday, blasting the United States for “interfering in China’s domestic affairs”. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called in US ambassador Terry Branstad to lodge its protest.
And observers noted that Beijing may well temporarily put the brakes on trade talks with Washington to show its displeasure.
However, the same observers indicated the devil was in the details and those details were in the statement released by the White House on Wednesday and Trump’s comments.
Trump spoke of his respect for Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as the people in Hong Kong. He said the bills – which also included the Protect Hong Kong Act – “are being enacted in the hope that leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long-term peace and prosperity for all”.
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