China's top Hong Kong official warns US 'hillbillies' over tariffs

Hong Kong, as an international trade hub, is not planning to impose retaliatory tariffs on the US. -- PHOTO: AFP

HONG KONG (AFP): Beijing's top official overseeing Hong Kong slammed US tariffs on China as "hegemonic" and attacked American "hillbillies" on Tuesday, as the world's two largest economies face off in a trade war that has battered global markets.

Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office, said in a speech that the Chinese finance hub has never levied taxes on imports and that the United States enjoyed a $272 billion trade surplus in the city over the past decade.