Hong Kong’s leader said he hasn’t yet received an invite to a major economic summit in the US this fall, following an earlier report saying Washington planned to block him from attending.
“I am still waiting for the invitation letter to be sent to me,” John Lee said in response to questions at his weekly press briefing. “We will attend in accordance with standard protocol.”
In July, the Washington Post reported that Lee, who is under US sanctions for his role in Hong Kong’s crackdown on civil liberties, would be blocked from attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in San Francisco in November. The report cited unidentified US officials. There hasn’t been official confirmation of the report from either side.
It’s unclear whether Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the summit, especially if Lee is banned. At the time of the report, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said her nation “strongly disapproves” of any ban.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met this month to discuss a possible meeting between Xi and President Joe Biden at the APEC summit, Bloomberg News previously reported.
Xi hasn’t met Biden since November last year in Bali.
