Lawmaker and executive councillor Jeffrey Lam on Thursday said China was justified in retaliating against US tariffs with trade levies of its own.

Speaking on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme, Lam said the country was only responding to what he said were America's "bullying tactics", but held out hope that a deal could eventually be worked out between Beijing and Washington.

"China is always open to a fair talk, you know, sitting at the table, not by just starting something, you know, adding 10 percent, 10 percent, 34 percent and 50 percent, forcing other countries to accept [their terms]... I think we should all sit down and talk about it."

While Lam expressed confidence that Hong Kong could weather the storm, he said things could get tough if the uncertainty over trade and tariffs continued, adding he was working with the government to ensure support for local exporters.

"I am asking the government to help. I met with HKMA the other day, first of all, I asked them to ask the banks to extend loans, loan repayment periods. So this is first very, very important and essential. And I also [asked] to extend the interest only repayment relief, which is the payment holiday for 12 more months."