U.S. President Donald Trump’s long-touted response to China for its crackdown on Hong Kong included a barrage of criticism but stopped short of fully escalating tensions between the two nations.
While the U.S. president’s speech Friday was heated in rhetoric, it lacked specifics around measures that would directly impact Beijing. He announced the U.S. would begin the process of stripping some of Hong Kong’s privileged trade status without detailing how quickly any changes would take effect and how many exemptions would apply.
The president also promised sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials "directly or indirectly involved” in eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy but didn’t identify individuals. The administration hasn’t yet decided under what authority it would implement that action, according to a person familiar with a matter, who declined to be named because the deliberations are private.