The planned $ 332 million sale of an exclusive property in Hong Kong has been questioned by the Chinese government, which has determined that the transaction needs its approval.
In September, the US reached an agreement to sell a residential complex for consulate staff to Hang Lung Properties Ltd.
, a Hong Kong real estate developer. The scenic property in a luxury neighborhood called Shouson Hill includes six low-rise buildings with 26 apartments and a rooftop pool.
A representative of the US consulate in Hong Kong previously said that the sale of the Shouson Hill complex was simply the result of a business decision, taken as part of a global reinvestment program by the State Department.
The agreement was not concluded on December 30, as scheduled. On Wednesday, Hang Lung said last week he was informed by the Hong Kong Land Registry that the sale could not be completed without the written consent of the Chinese government.
China’s imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong this year has helped ease tensions between Washington and Beijing. The Trump administration in recent months has imposed sanctions on senior government officials in China and Hong Kong for actions that the United States has said have eroded Hong Kong’s autonomy.
A December 21 letter from the Land Registry stated that the US Consulate General in Hong Kong “is not a commercial entity and the property is not ordinary real estate,” the developer said in a regulatory document.
He added that the sale of the complex “involves foreign affairs between the People’s Republic of China and the USA and should not be considered a normal commercial activity”.
The letter said that China’s central government had informed the Hong Kong government that the United States must make a written request at least 60 days before renting, buying or selling any property in the city. He also said that the US needs the written consent of the central government before continuing any transaction.
The United States has challenged the need to comply with these requirements, but has agreed that this is a transaction involving foreign affairs and diplomatic issues, according to the Hang Lung document.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press briefing on Wednesday that China’s requirement is “in accordance with the principle of reciprocity”, referring to US regulations on the real estate management of foreign embassies and consulates in America.
On Wednesday, a spokesman for the US consulate in Hong Kong said: “Additional time is needed for the buyer and seller to complete the administrative processes necessary to close the property.”
The State Department “is not free to comment on the specific conditions of ongoing contractual transactions,” he added.
The Shouson Hill property was acquired by the US government in 1948, when Hong Kong was under British rule. Hang Lung hoped to redevelop the 94,796-square-meter site into luxury single-family homes.
Write to Chong Koh Ping at [email protected]
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