China Daily, January 5, 2025
In December, the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China issued its annual report, accusing Hong Kong of eroding freedoms and aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine. These allegations sparked speculation about potential United States sanctions, including disconnecting Hong Kong from the SWIFT worldwide banking system, which could trigger a depegging of the Hong Kong dollar (HKD) from the US dollar (USD). However, such extreme measures are unlikely, as they would require support from the European Union and other allies and could destabilize the global financial system. In fact, depegging the HKD from the USD would more likely be triggered by a significant dwindling of reserves in Hong Kong rather than a drastic US policy shift.