Beijing won’t make trade concessions if US plays Hong Kong card, Chinese state media says

The United States should not link trade negotiations with China to the Hong Kong protests, Chinese state media has said, denouncing such a move as a miscalculation.

Chinese diplomatic observers also said Beijing considered the worsening situation in Hong Kong a sovereignty issue and would be highly unlikely to cave to Washington’s pressure.

Their remarks came as US Vice-President Mike Pence on Monday reiterated President Donald Trump’s demand to tie the largely stalled trade talks with Hong Kong’s deepening crisis, a day after hundreds of thousands of people marched peacefully in defiance of repeated intimidation from Beijing.

A short commentary published by Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily late on Monday said that events in Hong Kong were the internal affairs of China, and linking them with trade negotiations was a “dirty” aim.

“Making a fuss about Hong Kong will not be helpful to economic and trade negotiations between China and the US,” the commentary said. “They would be naive in thinking China would make concessions if they played the Hong Kong card.”

The top priority for Hong Kong was to stop violence and restore order, it said, adding that US politicians should not send the wrong message to people creating chaos in the city.