Photo taken on July 15, 2020 shows an exterior view of the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Li Ye/Xinhua)

Hong Kong has formally lodged a complaint to the World Trade Organization against the US request to mark Hong Kong products as "Made in China," the Hong Kong government said on Friday. Chinese observers said there's a greater chance the US would lose the case given legal principles, but the case may drag on for a long time.

Representatives of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to the WTO issued a notice Friday to their US counterparts, asking for negotiations over the US requirement in accordance with the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.

"The US is unilaterally and irresponsibly trying to weaken Hong Kong's status as a separate Customs territory," Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah said in the release posted on the official website, reiterating the special status of Hong Kong has been widely recognized and respected by the international community, and Hong Kong's economic and trade status is on par with that of other WTO members.

Yau noted that such a move also confuses the market, and undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system, and the Hong Kong government will robustly advance their arguments to defend Hong Kong's interests.

If the US labels "Made in Hong Kong" goods as "Made in China," Hong Kong products would face higher tariffs in the US.

But Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, told the Global Times that Hong Kong is more likely to win the case, as the US claim is untenable in terms of legal and WTO principles.

"Hong Kong joined the WTO as a separate customs territory. The US approach is unreasonable and violates WTO rules," Huo said on Friday, adding that the US intends to cancel the preferential treatment of tariffs that Hong Kong enjoys.

"The case is more symbolic," Hu Jianguo, a professor at Tianjin-based Nankai University, told the Global Times on Friday. Hu citied previous examples, saying there were some lawsuits filed, but executing them remained a problem.

Hu referenced the only previous WTO lawsuit initiated by Hong Kong in 1996, which did not reach the final stages.

The HK government had lodged formal representations with the US government on September 16 over the case, and has been following up with the US in the past six weeks, demanding the US withdraw its decision immediately. But they received no substantive response from the US, the release said.

Based on WTO's rules, if the two sides can't solve the disputes within 60 days, the HKSAR government has the right to take further action to request the establishment of an expert group under the WTO dispute settlement body to review the issue.

However, Huo noted that the case would drag on for a long time, considering the US is domineering, which will make the issue a controversial one, and pose a negative impact on Hong Kong.