Biden to warn US firms of risks of operating in Hong Kong

In the United States’ view, those risks include the Chinese government’s ability to gain access to data that foreign companies store in Hong Kong, said two people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. will warn American companies this week of the increasing risks of operating in Hong Kong, three people familiar with the matter said, as Washington seeks to ramp up pressure over Beijing’s crackdown on the financial center. Those risks include the Chinese government’s ability to gain access to data that foreign companies store in Hong Kong, two of the people confirmed. The warning, first reported by the Financial Times, will come in the form of a business advisory, the people said. Such an alert from President Joe Biden’s administration would underscore how Washington’s concerns about the former British colony have escalated since Beijing launched a crackdown on local democracy demonstrations in 2019.