China Condemns Trump Over Election Interference Claims

On Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry strongly criticized President Donald Trump, urging the U.S. to “stop slandering China.” This came after Trump unveiled declassified intelligence documents that alleged Beijing was attempting to influence the outcome of the U.S. election.

In a televised address on Thursday, Trump announced that the White House was releasing intelligence indicating potential threats to American electoral integrity, pointing to the Chinese Communist Party’s involvement. The documents included claims from intelligence officials suggesting that the Chinese government aimed to “leverage all domestic and foreign forces opposed to the U.S. president” to ensure Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.

Available on the White House website, the documents mentioned that China allegedly acquired extensive voter information that could impact around 220 million Americans. However, they did not provide evidence that the Chinese government directly influenced the outcomes of U.S. elections, instead highlighting vulnerabilities in the electoral system open to exploitation.

The Foreign Ministry disputed Trump’s speech, labeling it “false.” Spokesperson Lin Jian emphasized that China adheres to a principle of non-interference in other nations’ internal politics. He stated, “We never interfere in U.S. elections and have no interest whatsoever.”

Lin accused the U.S. of “deliberately interfering” in other countries and conducting widespread surveillance. He urged Washington to rethink its actions and cease slandering China for electoral gains.

Looking ahead, Xi Jinping is expected to visit the United States in September, following Trump’s visit to Beijing earlier this year. When asked whether the current tensions would influence that visit, Lin reiterated calls for the U.S. to stop misleading China.

Meanwhile, the initial response from the Chinese embassy in Washington had been softer, asserting that U.S. elections are an internal affair and stressing that China has never interfered in these processes.

Additionally, reports indicate that controlled Chinese media are working to downplay the impact of Trump’s speech. The South China Morning Post noted that sentiments of ridicule and skepticism appeared on Weibo, as posts accused Trump of blaming China for his own political troubles.

In his address, Trump cited intelligence warnings about the vulnerabilities of the electoral system and pointed fingers at “deep state” elements for trying to downplay risks. He specifically accused the Chinese Communist Party of attempting to undermine his electoral prospects.

In the released documents, a CIA assessment indicated that the Chinese government’s strategy was to exploit opposition to Trump to diminish his voter support and possibly compel him to resign.

Some of the documents also pointed to concerns that China might have obtained voter data from 18 states, totaling around 220 million files. It remains unclear if these files represent unique data points or if there’s any overlap. Trump referred to this situation as “the largest breach of election data in history.”