BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday the Financial Times report on plans for replacing Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam was a political rumor with ulterior motives.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comments at a daily news briefing in Beijing.

The FT reported that China was drawing up a plan to replace Hong Kong leader Lam with an “interim” chief executive, citing people briefed on the deliberations.