Is the end of US sanctions on some Hong Kong officials an olive branch?

Washington’s decision to end sanctions on nine Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials, including Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok and two national security staffers, is an olive branch from the US to China to improve relations after their two presidents met in May, political observers have said.They and legal experts said the lifting of sanctions on the nine individuals marked a “friendly gesture” and was “significant”, but little had changed for dozens of others whose sanctions had expired but who were then placed on a different list.Lawyers who spoke to the China-morning-post" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="12558" data-entity-type="organization">South China Morning Post said that although the 39 other officials, including Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, were moved to a sanctions list with more “flexibility”, the new restrictions on them remained largely the same as before.