Beijing:
Beijing on Friday lashed out at a claim by the US intelligence chief that China is the “greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide”, calling it a “hodgepodge of lies”.
The war of words comes as relations in between the two superpowers have spiralled to their lowest point in decades and as Washington unveiled travel restrictions for members of the Chinese Communist Party.
US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe mentioned in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece on Thursday that Chinese spies had been employing financial stress to influence or undermine US legislators.
“The People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since World War II,” he wrote.
Beijing hit back angrily on Friday.
“[Ratcliffe] only continues to repeat lies and rumours to slander and discredit China, and wantonly play up the Chinese threat,” mentioned Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
“I think this is yet another hodgepodge of lies that the US government has been cooking up lately.”
Hua also accused the US of becoming “engaged in a Cold War mindset, advocating major power competition, and wantonly expanding its nuclear weapons arsenal”.
The world’s two most significant economies have traded blows more than the coronavirus pandemic, trade and technologies competitors, espionage, human rights and media freedoms beneath US President Donald Trump’s tenure.
The US has repeatedly stressed that China is a grave threat to national safety and Western democratic values, whilst China has accused the US of searching for to include its rise by means of unlawful suggests.
Under the new US travel guidelines, visas issued to celebration members and their instant loved ones will stay valid for just one particular month, and for a single entry.
Previously some visas had been issued that permitted limitless entries and could stay valid for as extended as 10 years.
The United States shut down the Chinese consulate in Houston in July, calling it a centre of espionage and harassment of Chinese nationals in the US.
In retaliation Beijing ordered the US to vacate its consulate in Chengdu.
Hua on Friday referred to as for the United States to “stop damaging US-China relations and US-China mutual trust and cooperation”.
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