US Senator Warns China on Hong Kong Trade Status If It Intervenes in Protests

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) speaks with reporters ahead of the weekly policy luncheons on Capitol Hill in Wash, U.S., May 7, 2019. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters

A prominent U.S. senator warned China on Aug. 13 Hong Kong could lose its special U.S. trade status if Beijing intervenes directly to crack down on increasingly violent pro-democracy protests in the city.

A leading Republican also said the Trump administration must make clear to Beijing it would face “profound consequences,” including sanctions, if it intervened directly.