Beijing announced the move on April 21st last month, in response to Washington’s approval of six Chinese and Hong Kong officials.
China has approved several US Congress members, other government officials and heads of non-governmental organizations for what the administration called “awful behaviour on Hong Kong-related issues,” its Foreign Ministry said on April 20.
The sanctions correspond to the recognition of six Chinese in Washington and Hong Kong officials in March due to alleged involvement in the repression of multinationals and threatening further erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy.
The administration did not provide details about which US authorities were targeted.
“We must warn the US that Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong,” Guo Zi-Kun, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said as he announced retaliatory sanctions in Beijing.
Those approved by Washington include Hong Kong Attorney General Paul Lam, Hong Kong Security Office Don Jing Wei, and former Hong Kong Police Chief Raymond Siu.
Tensions among Chinese Americans have escalated in recent weeks following the imposition of Chinese products and CCP’s own tariff retaliation.
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Trump’s import tax on most countries was suspended on April 9, but he increased pressure on China by increasing tariffs to 145%.
China’s Commerce Department said in a statement on April 21 that the administration opposed countries that have contracted with the US “at the expense of China’s interests” and vowed to “take mutual measurements.”
Governments, including Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, have already begun negotiations with Washington.
China said talks are being held with the US but no bilateral meeting between Beijing and Washington has been announced.
In recent years, transshipment by Chinese companies has been increasing to avoid US tariffs.
Trump spoke about his plan to close that loophole, and publicly called on Mexico to raise tariffs on Chinese goods and stop China from using it as a backdoor to the US market.
The president has already shown that he is willing to lower or suspend tariffs on Chinese goods if China agrees to negotiations, but his offer was met with a public denial from Beijing.
“The ball is in a Chinese courthouse. China needs to do business with us,” White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt said at a press conference on April 15.
“We don’t have to deal with them. There’s no much greater difference between China and other countries,” she said, adding that the Chinese economy is dependent on American consumers.
Beijing is scheduled to convene an informal UN Security Council on April 23 to condemn Washington with tariffs on bullying and weaponization, according to the concept note, a document outlining key elements of proposed projects, initiatives or UN programs.
The memo invites all 193 member states to attend the April 23 meeting, and criticizes the United States for imposing tariffs in particular.
Emel Akan contributed to this report.
