China denounced Trump administration accusations of election-meddling as “Sinophobia” and urged the U.S. to steer the world’s two largest economies off their collision course.
In a toughly worded commentary, the official Xinhua News Agency said Sino-U.S. relations were at a crossroads. The piece said “relentless and groundless China-bashing rhetoric” showed that Washington wanted a “a full-scale face-off.” It called on the U.S. to stop its attacks and work with China to find a solution to their differences.
The commentary comes as the U.S. and China are locked in an escalating trade fight that has roiled world markets, and a week after Vice President Mike Pence laid out allegations of election interference in a harsh speech of his own. He accused China of “a whole-of-government approach” to sway American public opinion, including spies, tariffs, coercive measures and a propaganda campaign. He also criticized China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan by luring away diplomatic partners.
“With more guns blazing and new charges flying, the onslaught is indeed unusually broad in scope and great in ferocity,” the Xinhua article said. “From claiming undue credit for China’s development to accusing Beijing of interfering in U.S. elections, Washington has truly cranked up its rumor-mongering machine this time.”
The commentary is one of many China’s state media has published to hit back at accusations made by the U.S. An essay on Friday in People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, said that “America’s overnight change of face from a leader to a spoiler of globalization is mainly a result of its belief that today’s globalization cannot uphold its monopoly position and super profits.”
The Xinhua piece adds that the U.S. “can never alter the fact that Beijing’s circle of friends has kept expanding” and again criticized Washington for a “Cold War mentality.” In August, the U.S. warned El Salvador and other Latin American nations over their decisions to cut ties with the democratically run island of Taiwan in favor China.
The Xinhua piece, which made no mention of U.S. President Donald Trump, cited Chinese President Xi Jinping as saying there were “a thousand reasons to make the China-U.S. relationship work, and no reason to break it.”
“As to Washington, it is high time that it stopped its calumny campaign against China, abandoned its antiquated confrontational mindset, and worked with Beijing to steer their relationship out of the rough patch as soon as possible,” the article said.
