News summary produced by Claude AI
China’s Commerce Ministry announced on Friday that the United States has committed to allowing an executive order revoking Hong Kong’s special trading status to expire. The statement indicated that Washington made these commitments during bilateral trade negotiations in Madrid in the previous year, with the ministry characterizing the U.S. decision as fulfilling agreements reached between the two nations.
The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control confirmed that the national emergency declared under the executive order had ended and that certain individuals previously sanctioned under that specific order had been delisted. However, officials noted that some individuals remain subject to sanctions under separate Hong Kong-related legislation and were transferred to alternative sanction lists. Hong Kong leader John Lee and his predecessor Carrie Lam were removed from one list but added to another.
The original executive order was signed in July 2020 during the previous Trump administration in response to China’s enactment of a national security law for Hong Kong that same year. The order was last renewed for an additional year in July 2025. It had eliminated preferential trading treatment for Hong Kong, stating the territory no longer maintained sufficient autonomy to justify differential treatment compared to mainland China under U.S. law.
The timing of the decision comes two months after President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and may signal warming relations between the two nations. Hong Kong’s government responded positively to the policy shift, expressing hopes for resumed normal economic and trade relations with the United States and calling for respect for China’s sovereignty regarding Hong Kong governance.