US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Washington is imposing visa restrictions on Chinese Communist Party officials believed to be liable for undermining freedoms in Hong Kong.
Mr. Pompeo said the sanctions targeted "current and former" party officials.
He said the move followed President Donald Trump's promise to punish Beijing over a proposed security law that would erode Hong Kong's autonomy.
China said the US decision was a "mistake" that ought to be withdrawn.
It comes just days before a gathering of China's parliament.
The committee of the National People's Congress will discuss the new law at its meeting, which starts on Sunday.
China has proposed security legislation that might make it a criminal offense to undermine Beijing's authority in Hong Kong, and will also see China installing its own security agencies within the territory for the primary time.
The move has sparked a replacement wave of anti-mainland protests in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong security law: what's it and is it worrying?
Mr. Pompeo's statement on Friday, which didn't name the Chinese officials suffering from the US visa restrictions, followed a recent vote by the United States Senate to impose sanctions on individuals who undermine Hong Kong's autonomy and therefore the banks that do business with them.Responding to the move, the Chinese embassy in Washington said it "firmly opposes the US side's wrongful decisions".
In a statement posted on Twitter, the embassy added: "We urge the US side to right away correct its mistakes, withdraw the choice and stop interfering in China's domestic affairs."
Last month, Mr. Trump also said that he would start to finish preferential treatment for Hong Kong in trade and travel, in response to China's plans.
The US president said Beijing was replacing "its promised formula of 1 Country, Two Systems with One Country, One System".
"This may be a tragedy for Hong Kong ... China has smothered Hong Kong's freedom," he added.
China's parliament has already backed the resolution for the new legislation, which now passes to the country's senior leadership.
Hong Kong was always meant to possess a security law, but could never pass one because it had been so unpopular.
China is now stepping in to make sure the town definitely features a legal framework to affect what it sees as serious challenges to its authority.
The law would make criminal any act of:
secession - breaking faraway from China
subversion - undermining the facility or authority of the central government
terrorism - using violence or intimidation against people
activities by foreign forces that interfere in Hong Kong
Experts say they fear the law could see people punished for criticizing Beijing - as happens in China.
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