Hong Kong leader says city will sign more free trade pacts amid ruthless US tariffs

A drone view shows containers at the terminals at the port in Kwai Chung in Hong Kong, China, April 3, 2025. Leader John Lee said it would continue to remain a free port, with the city not planning to impose any retaliatory tariffs on the US right now. - Reuters

HONG KONG: Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Tuesday (April 8) the city would sign more free trade pacts to diversify its risk amid a global trade war triggered by what he called "ruthless" US tariffs that he said were disrupting the world economic and trade order.

"The US no longer adheres to free trade, arbitrarily undermining the internationally established rules of world trade, and its ruthless behaviour damages global and multilateral trade," Lee, who was sanctioned by the US in 2020 for his role in the rights crackdown in Hong Kong, told reporters.