LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC

said it “respects and supports” legislation that stabilises order in Hong Kong, as China moves to impose a national security law it says is aimed at curbing sedition, secession, terrorism and foreign interference.

The comments posted on the bank’s Chinese social media channel on Wednesday are the most outspoken yet in favour of Beijing’s position from the UK-headquartered but China-focused lender, which has historically avoided weighing in on Sino-foreign political matters.

A Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment beyond the contents of the post.

The bank’s statement came as tensions rise between HSBC’s two home countries, after Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson said the UK will not walk away from the people of Hong Kong if China imposes a national security law that would conflict with its international obligations under a 1984 accord.

(Reporting By Sumeet Chatterjee and Noah Sin in Hong Kong and Lawrence White in London, editing by Sinead Cruise)

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