Recently, as part of the unhinged “China Week”, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that could lead to the closure of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (HKETO) in the United States. The bill calls on the US president to “remove the extension of certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities to the HKETOs in the US if they determine that Hong Kong no longer enjoys a high degree of autonomy from the People’s Republic of China”. Some US lawmakers also accused the HKETOs of engaging in “oppression” and “espionage”. In reality, these offices in Washington DC, San Francisco and New York are dedicated to securing commercial, economic and business ties between the US and Hong Kong, which remains one of the most important financial centers in Asia, something the US has been eager to undermine.

The US Congress is a major instigator in the instability of broader China-America relations, in particular its habit of passing deliberately cynical, opportunistic, and arbitrary laws that aim to force through the agenda of those committed to a new cold war and the calculated destruction of bilateral ties. Many such bills are based on talking points or assumptions that push paranoia or total falsehoods, often making accusations that are completely unproven. In doing so, the bill to close HKETOs in the US will be wholly damaging to the US-China relationship, and is likely to incur countermeasures.

In Washington’s thinking, and Western logic as a whole, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China is only truly “autonomous” in its governance if it serves to advance US-led political goals and preferences, which is to serve their interests as opposed to those of China. During British rule, the city was ultimately a “Western outpost” in Asia, one that was enriched precisely because it was the lynchpin of an economic and trade order in the region created by the British Empire through its wars of aggression against China, and therefore also a means to project political influence.

Therefore, as Hong Kong was returned to China, it was anticipated that the city should continue to serve Western interests, and should serve as a bridge for transforming China, as one-way traffic. Although legally Hong Kong is Chinese sovereign territory, the “assumption” pushed by those in the US-led camp is that China does not have any right to enact laws to safeguard its own sovereign interests, and therefore national security considerations for Hong Kong. Thus, the discourse is subsequently pushed in Western governments and media outlets messaging that national security-based legislation, or efforts to safeguard national security in the city, somehow constitute an illegitimate and malign presence.

Since that time, following the 2019 riots and the passage of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, US policy and strategy has been geared toward attempting to undermine Hong Kong as a global financial center, seeking to create the mindset that these provisions make the city “bad for business” and that by preventing foreign political influence, sedition and insurrection, the city has lost its “autonomy”.

Hence, in the mindset of hawkish US Congress people, who are probably some of the most ignorant and callous people on the planet when it comes to the subject of China, the city is reduced to a mere “front for the Communist Party”, in the same way that they treat everything in China. Therefore Hong Kong becomes something that must be restricted.

Thus, in targeting the HKETOs, the goal of US politicians is to make a statement that the city is no longer “autonomous”, and also to undermine the interests of US businesses and organizations in the city by making it harder for them to do business and engage with the territory. So the idea is to unravel US-China economic ties wherever they can. China hawks are committed to the destruction of all elements of the US-China relationship to the point of reestablishing a cold war iron curtain and a state of total isolation. This is why they cynically attack all channels of cooperation, no matter what they are. Hence, as an alternative example, in another bill debated in the US House of Representatives during “China Week”, Confucius Institutes are baselessly accused of being hubs for “espionage” and “stealing intellectual property”.

However, the closure of HKETOs is a diplomatic provocation to China. Such a move by the logic of diplomacy requires reciprocity, and this is where the US administration needs to be careful. If you close these offices, you are creating instability, uncertainty and tensions in the US-China relationship for pure domestic political theater and allowing the ultra-hawks of Congress to bang the drums of confrontation. After all, if Hong Kong is not allowed to have a presence in the US anymore for economics and trade, why should the US have a presence in Hong Kong? This is the can of worms that is being opened up. Pragmatism and cool heads must prevail in the relationship, and the reality is that Hong Kong is an important destination for US investment and commerce in Asia. Trying to undermine the city to get at China will also fundamentally hurt American interests in the region. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.