Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The so-called Chinese overseas "police stations" do not exist and US officials should stop making baseless accusations and defamation against China, and instead do more to promote China-US cooperation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing on Friday in response to an inquiry on reports over Texas Governor Greg Abbott's recently issuing three executive orders aimed at preventing Chinese overseas "police stations."

On November 18, Abbott issued an executive order, directing the Texas Department of Public Safety to target and arrest people trying to "execute influence operations on behalf of the Chinese government to return dissidents to China." The executive order also claimed that the Chinese government has set up "police service stations" across the world, according to the Associated Press.

Mao said that Chinese law enforcement agencies strictly conduct international law enforcement cooperation in accordance with international law, fully respecting foreign laws and judicial sovereignty, and safeguarding the legal rights of criminal suspects in accordance with the law. 

China-US economic and trade cooperation is inherently mutually beneficial. Over the years, Chinese investments in the US have made significant contributions to employment and economic development in the US, Mao said. 

Politicizing and securitizing economic and trade issues goes against the principles of a market economy and international trade rules, undermines confidence in the US market environment, and does not contribute to US economic growth, said Mao, urging that relevant US officials should stop making baseless accusations and defamation against China and instead do more to promote China-US cooperation.