Photographer: Stephanie Reynolds / Bloomberg Photographer: Stephanie Reynolds / Bloomberg China has said it will allow more U.S. officials to retaliate against the Trump administration’s actions on Hong Kong and impose new travel restrictions on U.S. ambassadors. Provide specific names of those allowed, but said they include those in the executive and legislative branches and their immediate families and NGOs. Hua told a regular conference in Hong Kong on Thursday that China would cancel visa-free entry to Hong Kong and Mecca for US diplomatic passport holders. The United States on Monday announced sanctions against 14 members of China’s National People’s Congress, the country’s rubber stamp legislature, as President Donald Trump sought to put pressure on Beijing ahead of the election of President-elect Joe Biden. The United States has taken a number of actions against Beijing in recent weeks, including restricting travel visas for Communist Party members and banning the import of cotton from a company affiliated with the military in Xinjiang. A spokesman for the US embassy in Beijing declined to comment on China’s recent sanctions, but said in a statement that it was concerned about Beijing’s actions. Rise in recent weeks. Last month, China passed a resolution allowing the disqualification of Hong Kong legislators who were not considered loyal enough – prompting a massive resignation of opposition lawmakers. Prominent activists Joshua Wong and Agnes Cho were also jailed for leading a 2019 protest outside police headquarters, the latest in a series of actions by Chinese and local authorities to quell fierce opposition in the city. While US sanctions restrict access to banking services, Hong Kong chief executive Gary Lam has complained that many U.S. officials targeted by China’s “firm counter-measures” have seen little impact other than the presumption that they will not be welcomed in China. The dominance of the US dollar in the International Monetary Fund has limited Beijing’s capacity. The dominance of the dollar gives the United States an extra hand in China. This makes it even more difficult for multinational banks, including Chinese government-provided lenders, to avoid complying with US sanctions. — With the help of John Liu, Jing Li, and Ian Marlowe (updates with US diplomatic comment in paragraph 4) “Here, it is at the Bloomberg terminal.
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