The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Friday expressed "deep disappointment and serious dismay" at the Heritage Foundation's decision to exclude Hong Kong from its 2021 Index of Economic Freedom.

"The decision is neither warranted nor justified," a government spokesperson said in a statement. "It does not do justice to the HKSAR, which topped the chart as the world's freest economy for 25 years out of the Index's 27-year history."

The U.S.-based Heritage Foundation released its 2021 report, analysing the level of economic freedom of 178 economies, on Thursday.

"The HKSAR enjoys a high degree of autonomy over its economic and trade policies as enshrined in our Basic Law," the HKSAR government's statement read. "Hong Kong is and will always remain an open, safe, vibrant and pluralistic international financial and business hub, underpinned by economic freedom, the rule of law and judicial independence."

The Foundation's decision to suddenly exclude Hong Kong from this year's assessment was politically biased and a departure from its long-established practice for the Index, the spokesman said.

"The Foundation's decision ignores the fact that under the Basic Law, the HKSAR retains its status as a separate customs territory, and is a member in its own right of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)," said the statement, adding that the city also enters into free trade agreements, investment agreements and taxation agreements with other trading partners as an individual economy.

The HKSAR government will continue to uphold Hong Kong's institutional strengths, including the rule of law and independence of the judiciary, a simple and low tax system, an efficient government, a free trade and investment regime and a level-playing field for all so as to create a favorable environment for business to thrive and enable the economy to prosper, said the spokesperson.