China open to reset in relations with US as Washington announces fresh sanctions over Hong Kong

In a video address at the US-China Business Council on Monday, Wang Yi said US policy on China needed to return to “objectivity and rationality,” according to a transcript published on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.”(We should) strive to restart the dialogue, get back to the right track, and rebuild mutual trust in the next phase of Sino-US relations,” Wang said. He blamed the growing divisions between the US and China on some Americans with “outdated Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices.””The key is to respect each other. Respect each other’s historical and cultural heritage, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, and respect each other’s … choices,” Wang said.The council is a non-profit organization that represents the interests of more than 200 American companies doing business in China.Wang’s speech comes as the Trump administration continues to push a series of punitive measures against the Chinese government. In its latest move on Monday, the US State Department announced new sanctions against 14 officials on China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), over a national security law imposed on the financial hub of Hong Kong.Since the law — which bans secession, subversion, terrorist activities and collusion with foreign powers — went into effect in June, the city has seen mass arrests and restrictions on free speech, while several activists have fled.The State Department said it was sanctioning the 14 Chinese officials over their involvement in “developing, adopting and implementing” the national security law. All of them will be banned from traveling to the US, along with their families, while any assets held in the US or in control of US persons will be blocked.However the chairman of the NPCSC, Li Zhanshu — a close ally of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and a member of the Communist Party’s powerful standing committee — was not among those listed.”Our actions today underscore that the United States will continue to work with our allies and partners to hold Beijing accountable for undermining Hong Kong’s promised autonomy,” the department’s statement said.The US is also on the verge of enacting the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which would prevent businesses that refuse to open their books to American accounting regulators from trading on US stock exchanges — a move aimed at major Chinese firms listed in America.