Biden Plans To Unveil ‘Advisory’ Warning For Americans Doing Business With ‘Deteriorating’ Hong Kong

President Joe Biden’s administration will unveil an advisory warning for American companies about doing business in a “deteriorating” Hong Kong, the president confirmed Thursday.

Biden, speaking during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House, told reporters an advisory is necessary in part because of the Chinese government’s actions in Hong Kong. The advisory appears to be just a warning of the risks and likely won’t go too much in depth, experts told CNN.

“The situation in Hong Kong is deteriorating, and the Chinese government is not keeping its commitment that it made [on] how it would deal with Hong Kong,” Biden explained. “And so it is more of an advisory as to what may happen in – on Hong Kong. It’s as simple as that and as complicated at that.”

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The situation in Hong Kong has been tumultuous. Mass pro-democracy protests broke out in 2019, resulting in China implementing a wide-ranging national security law. The law gives Beijing more control over Hong Kong and criminalizes actions it views as challenging authority.

Some critics argue the move will be “the end of Hong Kong,” according to a previous report by the BBC. Former President Donald Trump ended preferential economic treatment for Hong Kong following the national security law and sanctioned several Chinese officials.

“This law, purportedly enacted to ‘safeguard’ the security of Hong Kong, is in fact a tool of CCP repression,” former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in 2020.

The U.S. is reportedly planning more sanctions against Chinese officials because of Hong Kong, Reuters reported Thursday. The relationship between the U.S. and China has continued to struggle, with Brock Silvers, chief investment officer for Hong Kong-based Adamas Asset Management, describing it to CNN as “increasingly contentious.”

Still, the advisory is unlikely to “pack an immediate punch,” Silvers predicted. Part of this is because “few US companies currently operating in Hong Kong will be surprised at its content or otherwise unaware of Hong Kong’s growing risks,” he said. (RELATED: US Sanctions 24 Officials Over China’s Latest Crackdown On Hong Kong)

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