Hong Kong’s government warned Washington that withdrawing its special US status, which has underpinned the city as a global financial hub, could be a “double-edged sword” and urged the United States to stop interfering in internal affairs.

The statement came as US President Donald Trump is due to announce later on Friday his response to the Chinese parliament’s advancement of national security legislation for Hong Kong, which democracy activists and Western countries fear could erode the city’s freedoms.