HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s leader said he has yet to receive an invitation to a major economic summit in the United States this autumn, following an earlier report saying that Washington planned to block him from attending. 

“I am still waiting for the invitation letter to be sent to me,” Mr 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 Mr 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 (Apec) meeting in San Francisco in November.

The report cited unidentified US officials. There has been no official confirmation of the report from either side.

It is unclear whether Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the summit, especially if Mr Lee is banned. At the time of the report, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said her nation “strongly disapproves” of any ban. 

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in September to discuss a possible meeting between Mr Xi and US President Joe Biden at the Apec summit, Bloomberg News previously reported.

Mr Xi has not met Mr Biden since November 2022, in Bali. BLOOMBERG