China on Tuesday censured U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for saying that the U.S. should follow Britain's so-called BNO policy to open its doors to residents of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) who want to leave the city, including lawbreakers.

Addressing the media, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said countries are supposed to punish violators of the law as a matter of fundamental principle. He said if the U.S. believes in this principle and agrees that it also applies to the lawbreakers involved in the Capitol Hill incident, it should object to allowing entry to the lawbreaking residents of the HKSAR.

He reiterated that China's position on Hong Kong related issues is consistent and clear. "Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs that brook no foreign interference," he said.

Wang urged the U.S. to rectify its mistakes of openly bolstering lawbreakers in the HKSAR and interfering in China's internal affairs under the pretext of Hong Kong-related issues and not to undermine the trust and cooperation between China and the U.S.