In response, on Wednesday, Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, announced that the U.S. would no longer maintain special trade relations with Hong Kong or consider it an autonomous region, as it has done since the 1997 handover by the United Kingdom to China.

Last week, Beijing also proposed new national security laws which also helped fan the flames of Hong Kong's new protests.

Hours before China's rubber-stamp parliament was set to take a key vote on a new Hong Kong security law that has sparked protests, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo certified to Congress that Hong Kong "does not continue to warrant treatment" under U.S. laws that it has enjoyed even after its handover to China in 1997.

Asked to comment on Pompeo's statement, China's embassy in Washington repeated past statements from Beijing and Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government that the security law is no threat to the city's high degree of autonomy and will be tightly focused. American investment banks use Hong Kong as a base for their Asian operations and station many personnel there.

Until now the U.S. has given Hong Kong special status under USA law, a provision that dates from when the territory was a British colony.

The legislation, which passed 413-1, can now be passed into law by US President Donald Trump.

His statement did not revoke any of Hong Kong's specific trade privileges.

Wednesday's notification to lawmakers sets the stage for the USA to withdraw preferential trade and financial status that the former British colony has enjoyed since it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. However, the security bill that Beijing has been pushing for Hong Kong in recent days has the potential to change the policy mainland China calls "one country, two systems". Last week, the top United States diplomat warned that the passage of the legislation would be a "death knell" for Hong Kong's autonomy.

Tsai stated there can be no want for a brand new legislation to assist folks fleeing political retaliation in Hong Kong, nevertheless.

Obviously, the ongoing fight between Beijing and Taipei over Hong Kong is not new, but it fits into a larger geostrategic problem.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at Tuesday's press conference that President Trump was "unhappy with China's efforts".

As many Hong Kong people fret about the national security law, demand for virtual private networks surged six-fold last Thursday, the day the plan were unveiled.

Last June, the territory's chief executive Carrie Lam attempted to pass an extradition bill that sparked massive protests, with critics casting it as "Article 23-light".

"To the wrong actions of outside forces in interfering in Hong Kong affairs, we will take necessary countermeasures to hit back", Zhao said.

Investors' concerns were clear in a sell-off on the Hong Kong bourse on Friday, though stocks regained some ground this week.

"It's something you're going to be hearing about. before the end of the week - very powerfully I think".

The latest protests follow the Chinese government's proposal for national security legislation aimed at tackling secession, subversion and terrorism in Hong Kong, terms officials in both Hong Kong and Beijing have used increasingly in regard to the pro-democracy protests.

Such a decision, however, would have far-reaching consequences and jeopardize Hong Kong's role as one of the world's leading trade and banking hubs, so the Trump administration may start with smaller steps targeting Chinese Communist Party officials rather than moves that would have far-reaching economic consequences, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.

That could jeopardise billions of dollars worth of trade between Hong Kong and the United States and dissuade people from investing there in the future.