Pence urges China to respect Hong Kong laws amid protest

Reuters
Updated

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence urged China on Monday to respect the integrity of Hong Kong's laws and repeated President Donald Trump's warning that it will be harder for the United States to make a trade deal with Beijing if protests in the Chinese-ruled city turned violent.

"For the United States to make a deal with China, Beijing needs to honor its commitments, including the commitment China made in 1984 to respect the integrity of Hong Kong’s laws through the Sino-British Joint Declaration," Pence said in prepared remarks.

"And our administration will continue to urge Beijing and the demonstrators to resolve their differences peaceably. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Franklin Paul)