China's foreign minister has warned  the United States, saying  that  it should not meddle in China's internal affairs amid the ongoing pro-democracy demonstrations sweeping Hong Kong this week.

Wang Yi  issued the statement Wednesday after meeting with his U.S. counterpart Secretary of State  John Kerry in Washington ahead of his meeting with President Barack Obama in the White House.

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Yi said the United States has earlier called for restraint and issued a statement saying that it will not tolerate "illegal acts."

"The Chinese government has very firmly and clearly stated its position. Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told John Kerry on Wednesday ahead of talks at the State Department.

The Foreign Minister warned other foreign countries as well to not get involved in the protests being waged by the Hong Kongers saying that the foreign countries should respect China's sovereignty.

Yi told Kerry that all countries should respect and uphold China's territorial integrity and sovereignty as this is the basic principle of "governing international relations."

Yi sternly said that any country or society would not allow illegal acts to be perpetuated by anybody and violate public order. He said that this situation is currently happening in the United States as well as in Hong Kong.

Kerry, for his part, re-echoed earlier calls for China to exercise restraint in handling the mass protests challenging the communist government.

In a statement, Kerry firmly stated the U.S. position that it supports universal suffrage in Hong Kong in accordance with the basic law.

The State Secretary said that the U.S. wanted a highest possible degree of autonomy for Hong Kong and it must be governed by rule of law for the stability and prosperity of the Hong Kongers.

Kerry told Yi that the U.S. hopes that the Chinese authorities will exercise restraint and respect the demonstrators'  rights to express their views peacefully.

In a statement, President Barack Obama also shared his views on the issue, stating that the U.S. has consistently supported the open system for the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong. He said the U.S. supports universal suffrage and the aspirations of the Hong Kong people.

TagsJohn Kerry, Hong Kong, Demonstrations, hong kong protests, protests, democracy, universal suffrage, barack, Obama