Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian. Photo: China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The facts have repeatedly shown that the US has manipulated social media to spread false information, poison the public opinion environment, and smear the image of other countries, which is its consistent practice, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday in response to a latest media report that the Pentagon had conducted a secret anti-vaccine campaign to undermine China during the COVID-19 pandemic.
　　
"China resolutely opposes it," said Lin Jian, a spokesperson for Chinese foreign ministry, during a press conference. 

Pentagon did not deny the report, and suggested that the move was an attempt to counter "malign influence campaigns" run by Beijing, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday. 

On Friday, Reuters released an investigative report stating that at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China's growing influence in the Philippines, a country hit especially hard by the deadly virus.

Stigmatizing vaccines can lead to extremely serious consequences like causing mistrust between science and public health, among others, China's leading vaccine supplier Sinovac told the Global Times in an exclusive response on Saturday following the report.

When the US wants to suppress and contain a country, it disregards the fact and truth, and "coordinates resources" to smear and discredit it. This is evident not only in the creation and dissemination of false information about Chinese vaccines but also in smearing the widely welcomed Belt and Road Initiative while also fabricating claims about "overcapacity" of China's fast growing new energy vehicles, Lin noted. 

Such actions do not reflect America's "strong capabilities" but rather expose its hegemony and hypocrisy, the spokesperson said, noting that the international community should keep its eyes open and recognize the reality of the US' behavior.

"A major country should behave in a great manner. We hope the US will adopt the right mindset, assume the responsibilities of a major power, and stop creating and spreading false information targeting other countries," Lin said. 


Global Times