US Suspends Three Bilateral Agreements With Hong Kong Amid Escalating Tensions With China

The U.S. State Department has announced the suspension of three bilateral agreements with Hong Kong amid escalating tensions with China concerning its crackdown on freedoms in the former British territory and other reasons.

The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the suspension of bilateral agreements in a tweet on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

“The Chinese Communist Party chose to crush the freedoms and autonomy of the people of Hong Kong," he said.

In a statement, the State Department announced the “drastic steps to erode the high degree of autonomy that Beijing itself promised to the United Kingdom and the people of Hong Kong for 50 years under the UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration.”

The relevance of the declaration that originally promised “one country, two systems” has been undermined by Beijing’s recent actions concerning the national security law, which compromises the freedom and power of the people for political opposition.

As soon as the national security law for Hong Kong was announced by China, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end the preferential treatment of Hong Kong. Beijing criticized the decision then and said that it is unfair. The signing of the executive order meant the suspension of “the agreements, on extraditions and reciprocal tax exemptions on income derived from the international operation on ships.”

The relations between the U.S. and China have been sour lately due to multiple reasons. Hong Kong is one reason but the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s movement in the South China Sea and the concerns regarding the stealing of data of American users are the other major issues that have deepened the dispute between the two largest economies in the world.