Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday said the SAR government supports introducing an anti-sanctions law into the city by adding it to an annex of the city's Basic Law.

Speaking to reporters before the Executive Council meeting, Lam said the national law, which involves the imposition of countermeasures against foreign sanctions, is entirely a matter of foreign affairs and not within the purview of Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy.

Thus, it is in line with the Article 18 of the Basic Law to introduce it to the SAR by adding it to the Annex III to the Basic Law, Lam said.

Lam said by way of local legislation could make the law better fit into Hong Kong's legal system and protect the city's rule of law.

It's the SAR government's constitutional duty to safeguard national security and development interests and thus, prior to the local legislation of the law, the government will act under the established laws to cooperate with the anti-sanctions actions by the central government, Lam said.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the anti-foreign sanctions law on June 10 after the US and some of its allies in recent years imposed a number of sanctions on Chinese individuals and organizations over alleged human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Tibet autonomous region and the HKSAR.