China has decided to impose reciprocal sanctions on five U.S. individuals per its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Thursday.

The five individuals are former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Louis Ross, Chairman of U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Carolyn Bartholomew, former Staff Director of Congressional-Executive Commission on China Jonathan Stivers, DoYun Kim from the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and senior program manager of the International Republican Institute Adam Joseph King.

The sanctions came after the U.S. recently sanctioned five deputy directors of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Chinese officials in July through the issuance of the "Hong Kong Business Advisory," and the repeated announcement of sanctions is a political plot to contain China by hyping up issues related to the HKSAR, Zhao said.

According to the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, the countermeasures include banning the five from entering China (including Hong Kong and Macao SARs), freezing their assets in China, and prohibiting Chinese citizens and institutions from dealing with them.

China urges the U.S. to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and will take all necessary measures to safeguard national interests and dignity, he added.