Donald Trump signs legislation and executive order rebuking China over its interference on Hong Kong

US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House on Tuesday. Credit: AP

Donald Trump said he has signed legislation to impose sanctions on China in response to its interference with Hong Kong’s autonomy.

The US President also said he signed an executive order ending the preferential treatment that Hong Kong has long enjoyed.

"Hong Kong will now be treated the same as mainland China," Mr Trump said during a speech in the White House Rose Garden.

"No special privileges, no special economic treatment and no export of sensitive technologies. In addition to that, as you know, we are placing massive tariffs and have placed very large tariffs on China."

The Trump administration has been openly critical of Beijing’s sweeping national security law aimed at limiting Hong Kong’s autonomy and banning literature critical of the Chinese Communist Party.

The two actions are part of the Trump administration's offensive against China for what he calls unfair treatment by the rising Asian superpower, which hid details about the human-to-human transition of the coronavirus.

The almost daily administration broadsides against China come as Trump is being criticized for the surge in Covid-19 cases in the United States and as he works to portray his expected Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, as weak on China.

U.S.-China relations are at a low point and since the two nations signed phase one of a trade deal, the talks are currently stalled with virtually no hope of restarting before the November election.