Has the US decided not to allow Li Jiachao to attend APEC? The Chinese side speaks up! Li Jiachao | Biden administration | APEC
The US media "Washington Post" quoted "informed officials" on July 27 local time as saying that the Biden government "decided to prohibit" Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Li Jianchao from attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Informal Meeting in San Francisco in November 2023.
In August 2020, Li Jiachao, then the Director of Security of the Special Administrative Region Government, was included in the so-called "Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons" by US President Trump, and the sanctions have continued to this day.
The Washington Post wrote that the Biden administration believes that "the sanctions against Li Jiachao do not affect Hong Kong's attendance at APEC, and the SAR government can send high-level representatives to attend.". The White House spokesperson declined to comment on the above report, but stated that "we look forward to all APEC member delegations attending in accordance with US laws and regulations.".
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, expressed strong opposition: "This violates APEC regulations and also goes against the commitments made by the United States."
![Has the US decided not to allow Li Jiachao to attend APEC? The Chinese side speaks up! Li Jiachao | Biden administration | APEC](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/e67984b3f97766f2193d035ecde15e7f.jpg)
The office of the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region also responded: "the United States should earnestly fulfill its basic responsibility as a host, invite the chief executive to attend the meeting as the leader of Hong Kong, China, in accordance with the regular and consistent practice of APEC. It also pointed out that the APEC meeting does not belong to a certain country or economy, and any host should invite members to participate in accordance with the existing rules and customs."
According to public information, on February 9, 2023, US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman publicly stated in the Senate that he planned to invite Lee Ka chao to attend APEC. However, on June 7, he faced pressure from some members of both parties in the United States. On June 14th, the US State Department rephrased that "no decision has been made on the APEC invitation list" and stated that "sanctioned individuals are not allowed to visit the US unless exempted.".
Observation suggests that if the US decision to ban Li Jiachao from attending APEC is true, it may further bring some uncertainty to the current US China relations.