The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs recently approved the so-called Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act, which seeks to constrain the operations of Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) in the US, or even force them to shut down.

If the bill becomes law, the White House could remove at its discretion the extension of certain international-institutition privileges, exemptions and immunities to these ETOs.

The proposed law, which is still pending Congress’ votes, was among the several pieces of legislation targeting China, which were cleared by the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs last week.

The three ETOs have been there since the 1980s and have never had any negative impact on US society. They served not only the interests of Hong Kong but also those of the US, especially businesses aiming to invest in China and the Asia-Pacific region. They maintain communication between Hong Kong and the US government, businesses, think tanks and social groups on various issues. On top of that, they also help Hong Kong businesses find investment opportunities in the US. 

Bracing for the economic headwinds in the region, more than 30 US companies started new operations in Hong Kong this year, joining the existing 1,200, according to a recent interview by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah. Those US companies have found business opportunities in Hong Kong and are contributing to the city’s economic development. 

Removing the ETOs would definitely harm connectivity between Hong Kong and the US, which is against the interests of the two sides. 

Why would the US need to dismantle this mutually beneficial arrangement, even though no US regulations have been violated nor harm caused to the country? Apparently, the US lawmakers who sponsored the bill are playing domestic politics on the eve of the upcoming presidential and congressional elections. And Hong Kong, against the backdrop of China-US tensions, is again being used as a pawn in the US political chess game.

The Biden administration has been deescalating tensions with China and talking more about cooperation. A pacified and stable China-US relationship would bring better economic performance and be helpful to solving certain social issues, not only for China but for the US too. 

Of course, those China hawks in Washington would be unhappy to see this happen. When launching any attack on China to earn brownie points, they would always pick the most vulnerable and most topical targets, and Hong Kong, being China’s international financial center, is always the best option for them. 

They know they can label anyone in the US’ political circle who speaks in a rational way about China as being soft to an “enemy” and everything becomes easy. This has become the dominant logic in US politics in recent years.

Also through this move, those US politicians have again showed their true hypocritical colors. Before, they always saw Hong Kong as an “independent entity” separated from the Chinese mainland.

Now they are doing a U-turn and describing Hong Kong as “just an ordinary Chinese city” that doesn’t deserve special status in economic and trade ties. It’s a debate not based on facts but on standpoints, though both lead in one direction — anti-China. 

Moreover, some US politicians have argued that the ETOs serve as another mouthpiece used by the Communist Party of China to obscure its record of human rights abuses against Hong Kong people and even pose a national security threat to the US by lobbying politicians and US trade organizations. 

Three representative offices from a city with 7.4 million people, which are tasked with promoting economic and trade relations and cultural exchanges, are a threat to the world’s biggest superpower? The world-leading superpower, with its unrivaled economic, political, financial and military capabilities, is scared of the information conveyed by three small foreign representative offices? 

Three small foreign representative offices are capable of shaping the public opinion of a superpower with 330 million people? This could be the most ridiculous story I have ever heard. 

With the global economy at a low ebb, the US, as a world leader, has the responsibility to stabilize and boost global trade. Hong Kong, a key trade hub in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation region, is a strategic connector and growth creator for the whole region. And the US, which is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, also needs better economic and trade arrangements. Cooperation brings prosperity and confrontation destroys it. But for reasons of domestic politics, the US might abandon their obligation to the world. Is that what US President Joe Biden means by “the US would lead global cooperation”? 

Scaremongering is always the best weapon but the worst as well. It may stimulate some panicked voters to cast their ballots for some radical politicians, but in the long run, the nation’s spirit of inclusiveness, professionalism and rationality will be gone. And that is when the country will really lose its credibility and edge.

The potential shutdown of Hong Kong’s ETOs in the US is not in the city’s interests, nor is it in the interests of the US.

But Hong Kong always recovers from setbacks, with its people buttressed by the Lion Rock spirit, or the “never-say-die” spirit. This time won’t be an exception.

The author is a member of the Hunan Province Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Y Elites Association. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.