US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo File photo: AFP

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's accusation that Chinese diplomatic posts and personnel in the US engage in espionage is groundless, vicious slander, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Friday.

Wang made the remarks at a routine daily press conference on Friday, in response to questions concerning Pompeo's reported statement accusing diplomats in China's New York Consulate of engage in behavior "more akin to what spies are doing."

Wang recalled how the US unilaterally and abruptly forced the closure of  the Chinese Consulate General in Houston, and China quickly retaliated by requiring the US Consulate General in Chengdu to close in late July.

Wang warned that China would again make a necessary response according to developments.

The continuous, venomous slander by the US against China's diplomats shows the US has a guilty conscious and the accusation is being used to deflect responsibility for its own bad behavior, Wang noted.

"I want to stress that Chinese diplomatic consulate institutions in the US, including the one in New York and its personnel, always act in accordance with international law and bilateral agreements between China and the US. Their normal exchanges with the US are frank and forthright and there are no grounds for making such an accusation," he said.

"We urge the US to stop smearing Chinese agencies and personnel at once, stop creating troubles, and fulfill its obligations under international laws and agreements between China and the US, and provide appropriate and necessary conveniences to Chinese agencies and personnel," said the spokesperson.

Global Times