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China on Friday said it has never interfered in US elections and has no interest in doing so, after US President Donald Trump accused Beijing of meddling in the 2020 election.
“The relevant allegations by the US are entirely fabricated and aimed at vilifying China,” said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian. “We have no interest in interfering in US elections and have never done so.”
Asked whether Trump’s comments could affect Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to the US in September, Jian replied: “As I just said, we urge the US to stop making an issue of China in its elections and do something conducive to China-US relations.”
Trump used a primetime address to the nation on Thursday to double down on claims of voter fraud and interference, assertions he has previously used to deny his loss in the 2020 election.
“America is back and doing really well, but we still have a major challenge that must be urgently addressed, because no country can be great without fair and honest elections,” Trump said during the address.
Trump also said he would release classified documents that showed that China had illicitly acquired 220 million US voter files, which he said includes names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences and other data used to register to vote.
However, his renewed allegations contradict previous audits and reviews, including an assessment made by Trump’s then-attorney general William Barr, that could not find any significant evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
US on diplomatic visit to Southeast Asia
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio travels to the Philippines next week to meet with his Southeast Asian counterparts, the State Department said on Friday.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the trip “advances a clear US priority: a free and open Indo-Pacific that delivers safety, security, and prosperity for the region and for the American people.”
The State Department provided no details of his schedule, but last year Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering.
The two top diplomats spoke recently by telephone following Trump’s visit to China last spring.