He said the move will be made as a  reciprocal countermeasure against the recent "erroneous practice of the US targeting Hong Kong".

According to the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, China decides to impose sanctions against former US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Louis Ross, Chairman of US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) Carolyn Bartholomew, former Staff Director of Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) Jonathan Stivers, DoYun Kim at National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, senior program manager of the International Republican Institute (IRI) Adam Joseph King, China Director at Human Rights Watch Sophie Richardson, and Hong Kong Democratic Council, reports Global Times.

The so-called “Hong Kong Business Advisory” concocted by the US to smear the business environment in Hong Kong, and its illegal sanction on several officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR, gravely violate international law and basic norms governing international relations, and severely interfere in China's internal affairs, the spokesperson told Global Times.

“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” said the spokesperson.

“I would like to stress once again that Hong Kong is China's Special Administrative Region and its affairs are an integral part of China's internal affairs,” the spokesperson noted.

“Any attempt by external forces to interfere in Hong Kong's affairs would be as futile as an ant trying to shake a big tree,” the spokesperson added.