Beijing on Tuesday doubled down support for four officials who have been working to ensure the enforcement of the national security law for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), despite a fresh round of sanctions coming from the United States.

"China's central government stands by officials from the HKSAR for fulfilling their responsibilities in accordance with the law," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at Tuesday's regular briefing.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the latest sanctions on Monday, accusing the four of having "dismantled the promised autonomy and freedoms of Hong Kong" through enacting national security law. Last August, Washington announced sanctions against 11 Hong Kong officials, including Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong.

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Wang stressed the legitimacy of the newly passed law, which was approved by China's top legislature earlier this year. Realizing that the HKSAR government could hardly come up with legislation that will help preserve its security after months of social unrest, the central government put forth this law from a national perspective, aiming to punish the extremely small group of criminals that jeopardize national security and protect the majority of Hong Kong residents, the Chinese official said.

Wang also slammed Washington for "interfering China's internal affairs." "Hong Kong issues are purely China's internal matters, and no foreign party is eligible to interfere," he said.

Matthew Cheung, chief secretary of the HKSAR, also denounced Washington's sanctions as "barbaric" and "unacceptable."

"We are not going to be intimidated by any of these actions. In fact, it's clearly a breach of international practice, apart from international law," the city's No.2 official told media.

Widespread protests broke out in Hong Kong last June, sparked by a movement against a now-abandoned fugitive bill, and gradually turned into sometimes radical demonstrations that plunged parts of the city into chaos. As a result of that, the financial hub's GDP contracted by 1.2 percent in 2019, the worst since the city's return to China in 1997.

Hong Kong officials have worked to revive the embattled economy, which was doubly hit after the COVID-19 pandemic. Days ago, Lam paid a visit to Beijing for scheduled meetings with mainland officials from various sectors.