China rejects Trump's US election interference claim as fabricated smear

China has rejected Donald Trump's allegation of interfering in US elections and stealing voter data. The spat threatens to cast a shadow over Xi Jinping's proposed September visit and wider bilateral ties.

In Short

• Beijing urged Washington to stop using China as a campaign issue
• Lin Jian said China follows strict non-interference in foreign affairs
• Trump alleged illicit access to 220 million American voter records

China on Friday rejected Donald Trump's allegation that Beijing interfered in American elections, calling the claim fabricated and a malicious smear. It said China had never interfered in US elections and urged Washington to stop making baseless accusations and using China as an election issue.

The response came as questions grew over the possible impact of Trump's remarks on Chinese President Xi Jinping's planned visit to the US in September. Trump said in a primetime address on Thursday that China had interfered in the 2020 election and had made the "illicit acquisition" of 220 million voter files, including personal information.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a media briefing that China had always followed the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs. "China has always upheld the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs and has neither any interest in nor ever interfered in US elections," he said.

Lin also hit back at Washington, saying, "In contrast, the international community knows full well who habitually interferes in other countries' internal affairs, indiscriminately conducts long-term surveillance of governments, businesses and ordinary citizens around the world, and steals foreign citizens' data on a massive scale." He added, "We urge the US side to reflect on its own conduct, stop making baseless accusations against China, refrain from using China as an election issue, and do more to promote China-US relations."

Asked whether Trump's allegation would affect Xi's plan to visit the US in September, Lin said, "We urge the US to stop making an issue of China in its elections and do something conducive to China-US relations." Trump visited China in May and held talks with Xi. After that meeting, Xi said both sides had reached important common understandings on maintaining stable economic and trade ties, expanding practical cooperation in various fields, and properly addressing each other's concerns. Trump later invited Xi to make a reciprocal visit to the US in September, and the Chinese President accepted.

Chinese analysts said Trump's latest remarks could derail Xi's planned US visit. Zhao Minghao, a professor at Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, said Trump appeared to have taken a harder line on China since returning from his Beijing trip in May, amid criticism at home that he had gone soft on China. Trump also railed against communism in a speech earlier this week. "All these will have some impact on US-China relations," Zhao told the South China Morning Post. "Trump's purpose is, on one hand, to display toughness on China. And on the other, it's also with an eye on this year's midterm elections." Zhao said the attacks could complicate Xi's possible US visit, along with other factors including the Trump administration's ongoing tariff investigations against Beijing and US arms sales to Taiwan.

Diao Daming, an international relations professor at Renmin University of China, said Trump's attack did little to build on the positive momentum from the May summit, where the two leaders agreed to build a constructive relationship of strategic stability. He said the speech was likely driven by domestic political considerations, but warned that if Trump continued with this approach it could undermine "the rare, positive atmosphere in Sino-US relations".

Trump's latest remarks have drawn a sharp response from Beijing at a time when both sides had been looking to maintain stable ties after the May summit. In 2020, incumbent President Trump sought re-election but was defeated by Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

With PTI Inputs

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