Hong Kong's government warned Washington that withdrawing its special U.S. status, which has underpinned the city as a global financial hub, could be a "double-edged sword" and urged the United States to stop interfering in internal affairs.
The statement came as U.S. President Donald Trump is due to announce later on Friday his response to the Chinese parliament's advancement of national security legislation for Hong Kong, which democracy activists and Western countries fear could erode the city's freedoms.
The former British colony enjoys a high degree of autonomy under a "one country, two systems" formula since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.