Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry Photo: cnsphoto

China On Tuesday slammed the US attorney general Merrick Garland's accusation that claimed China "sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the US," saying that it is one of the lies some people in the US made up to obstruct China's efforts to pursue fugitives and recover stolen goods, and that the US had turned into a haven for corrupt elements and outlaws.

China has always required Chinese citizens to abide by the laws and regulations of the host country, but some people in the US law enforcement agencies, holding Cold War thinking and ideological prejudice, have repeatedly fabricated various excuses and lies to smear China, to unreasonably suppress Chinese companies and to obstruct and sabotage China's efforts to pursue fugitives and recover stolen goods, making the US a "safe haven" for corrupt elements and outlaws, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin noted at a routine press conference on Tuesday.

Wang's remarks came as US federal prosecutors alleged in an indictment unsealed on Monday that two so-called Chinese intelligence officers had been charged for trying to bribe a US law enforcement official as part of an effort to obtain inside information about a criminal case against the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, The Guardian reported.

Garland on the same day detailed two other cases to the media, in which some other so-called Chinese intelligence operatives harassed dissidents inside the US and pressured US academics to work for them, according to The Guardian.

These cases showed that China "sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights," Garland was quoted as saying by the media.

What the US has done is on the opposite side of justice and the rule of law, undermining the foundation of China-US law enforcement cooperation and damaging the image of the US itself, Wang pointed out.

He urged some people in the US to change course and stop their groundless attacks on China and stressed the fact that China will continue to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.

As to the charges against the so-called Chinese intelligence officers, Wang said he had not learned about the details of the cases, but he stressed that China always opposed the US' moves to generalize the concept of national security and to abuse national power in order to suppress Chinese companies.

Global Times