Pentagon urges Chinese ‘restraint’ on Hong Kong

Bloomberg

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said China shouldn’t intervene forcibly in Hong Kong and warned European countries against becoming too dependent on Chinese investment.
“We would obviously urge restraint and not to act, and to sit down and talk with the protesters and resolve the differences,” Esper said at a press conference in Paris with his French counterpart Florence Parly.
“As countries increase their dependence on Chinese investment and trade they become more susceptible to coercion and retribution when they act outside Beijing’s wishes,” Esper said. “It is essential that all countries make well-informed decisions about their relationship with the Chinese.”
Esper and Parly downplayed their recent differences over France’s refusal to join a naval force put together by the US to protect shipping in the Gulf following a series of attacks on oil tankers.
Britain joined the US force while other European countries such as Germany said they’d work with the French on a mission that’s more geared toward surveillance.