US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo File photo: AFP

 The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday slammed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for having anti-China paranoia after he warned US politicians to be vigilant around Chinese diplomats, who he said could be trying to woo them as part of China's espionage campaign.

Local cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges are important parts of China-US relations and serve the interests of both sides. China has no interest in and has never interfered in US internal affairs, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Thursday's routine press briefing. 

Speaking in the Wisconsin state capitol, Pompeo said the State Department was reviewing the activities of the US-China Friendship Association and the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification over suspicions they are trying to influence US schools, business groups and local politicians, Reuters reported Thursday. 

The Chinese Embassy and consulates in the US and various nongovernmental organizations have always acted in accordance with international law and bilateral agreements between China and the US. Their exchanges with US governments at all levels aim to promote mutual understanding, exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, Wang said. 

"Pompeo's remarks are pure lies. China firmly opposes this," Wang stressed. "We have also noticed that many people in the US have criticized Pompeo, saying that his speech is entirely under the guise of diplomacy and is for his political ends." 

For some time, some US politicians have suffered from "anti-China delusions," constantly slandering and discrediting the normal activities of Chinese institutions and individuals, and using the "China threat" to obstruct normal China-US exchanges for political gains. This is bound to be condemned and opposed by wise Americans, he said. 

Wang once again urged Pompeo to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, respect the facts, and stop fabricating lies and disrupting normal China-US exchanges and cooperation.