China on Friday lashed out at the recent move of Governor Greg Abbott of the U.S. state of Texas to smear China's international police cooperation and to make destructive comments on investment between China and the U.S. to the detriment of China-U.S. trade cooperation.
On November 18, Abbott issued an executive order to direct the Texas Department of Public Safety to target and arrest people who try to execute influence operations on behalf of the Chinese government. Abbott's move is in response to "Operation Fox Hunt," a Chinese government initiative intended to root out corruption in the country by hunting down fugitive corrupt officials who have resided overseas.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning denied Abbott's claim that China "operates police stations overseas" and his destructive comments on Chinese investments in the U.S.
"The so-called 'Chinese overseas police stations' do not exist. Chinese law enforcement agencies conduct international cooperation in strict accordance with international law and fully respect the laws and judicial sovereignty of other countries, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects," Mao said.
Also earlier this month, Abbott ordered all agencies in his state to stop investing in China and to sell off any holdings as soon as possible, citing financial and security risks.
"The nature of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win outcome. Over the years, Chinese investments in the U.S. have made important contributions to the U.S. employment and economic growth. Over-stretching of political and security concepts in handling trade and investment issues widely goes against the principles of the market economy and international trade rules. It harms global confidence in the U.S. market environment and is not conducive to U.S. economic growth. The relevant U.S. politicians should stop making baseless accusations against China and do more to foster China-U.S. cooperation," said the spokeswoman.
China raps U.S. politician's action to smear its international police cooperation
