BEIJING: China on Friday rejected allegations by US President Donald Trump that Beijing interfered in the American electoral system, describing the claims as “pure fabrications” and “malicious smears”.
The response came after Trump alleged that China had acquired data from millions of US voters, claiming the country’s election system had been compromised.
He also announced plans to declassify intelligence documents that he said would show China had unlawfully obtained around 220 million voter files.
Addressing reporters at a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian dismissed the allegations, saying they were baseless and aimed at damaging China’s reputation.
“The relevant claims made by the US side are pure fabrications and malicious smears that have long been proven to be groundless statements,” Lin said.
He added that China had “no interest in the US election and has never interfered in it”, urging Washington to stop using China as a political issue during election debates.
“The international community sees very clearly who it is that habitually interferes in the internal affairs of other countries,” Lin said.
The Chinese statement followed Trump’s renewed criticism of the US electoral system, as he called for stricter voting rules ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. However, the proposed measures have faced limited support, including among some members of his own Republican Party.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged”, but those allegations have not been supported by evidence. Numerous legal challenges failed to establish widespread fraud that could have altered the election outcome, while recounts, audits and reviews by US authorities also found no evidence of such claims.
READ ALSO: Trump Accuses China of Trying to Defeat Him in 2020, Claims Massive US Election Data Breach
The latest dispute adds to ongoing tensions between Beijing and Washington, with both sides frequently accusing each other of interference and unfair practices in political and economic affairs.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused China of seeking his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, alleging that Beijing carried out the largest compromise of US election data in history and illegally obtained millions of American voter records.
In a nationally televised primetime address from the White House, Trump announced that he would declassify intelligence which he said exposed “shocking vulnerabilities” in the US electoral system.
He also renewed his longstanding claim that the 2020 election was stolen, despite years of investigations, court rulings and audits finding no evidence of fraud that altered the outcome.
