On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany revealed that US President Donald Trump is unhappy with China on its efforts to "acquire" Hong Kong. According to Trump, "it is difficult to understand how Hong Kong can remain a financial center if China seizes power." US officials warn that China's efforts to introduce new national security laws in Hong Kong could jeopardize the city's special trade status.

According to congressman Brad Sherman, Democratic Representative of California, "it is high time for Chinese companies to provide the same protection to investors as US companies. Either pass US securities laws, or ban China from raising money in the US financial markets."

"The goal here is not to exclude or unregister. China must do the same as any other country, and agree that if their companies want to participate in the US capital markets, they have to live by the rules of the US capital markets", Sherman said in an interview with MarketWatch. "It's time for China to look first at the interests of investors," he added.

Sherman emphasized that the point of his speech is not to force Chinese companies out of the US financial markets, but to improve investor protection in the US. Improvements on the bill should be discussed, such as creating exceptions for some firms, especially those that are majorly operated and US-owned but have small Chinese subsidiaries whose financial statements cannot be verified by the US regulatory authorities .

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is considering a series of sanctions against Chinese officials, enterprises and financial institutions, Bloomberg News reports.

The US Treasury may supervise transactions and freeze the assets of Chinese officials and enterprises if Beijing proceeds to implement a new national security law that would limit the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong citizens.

Discussions on the issue are ongoing, and a decision has yet to be made as to whether or not to apply sanctions.