China to US: Back Off

The United States and China clashed on Wednesday as the pro-democracy protests sweeps Hong Kong, with Beijing sternly warning Washington to back off. China reportedly added saying it would not tolerate “illegal acts.”

Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told US Secretary of State John Kerry that the Chinese government has firmly and clearly stated its position. It added that “Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs.”

“All countries should respect China’s sovereignty and this is a basic principle of governing international relations,” Wang said. Wang added that he believed that for any country, for any society, no one would allow those illegal acts that violate public order.

“That’s the situation in the United States and that’s the same situation in Hong Kong,” he said.

With a rising standoff on the streets of Hong Kong, a Chinese territory, Kerry renewed US calls for restraint by the city’s police.

Report said that Washington, with delicate relations with China, is always eager to improve trade and economic ties with the world’s second largest economy while also pressing for greater human rights.

Kerry, with Wang standing in his side, told reporters that as China knows, US supports universal suffrage in Hong Kong, accordant with the Basic Law.” The Basic Law is the mini-constitution of Hong Kong, where Beijing is grappling with one of the biggest challenges to its rule of the territory, report said.

The protest actions in Hong Kong were triggered after the Beijing restricted who can run as next chief executive.

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