BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China urges the U.S. to stop concocting and spreading false information about other countries, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday.
Lin made the remarks when asked to comment on a Reuters report that said the U.S. military launched a smear campaign against China at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Reuters investigation found that the campaign "aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China."
"We didn't do a good job sharing vaccines with partners," a senior U.S. military officer who was directly involved in the campaign told Reuters, according to the report. "So what was left to us was to throw shade on China's."
Lin said this has once again shown that spreading false information by manipulating social media, poisoning the public opinion environment, and tainting the images of other countries are customary U.S. practices. "China firmly opposes this," he said.
The senior U.S. military official's words have exposed the truth, as well as the United States' intentions in launching disinformation campaigns against other countries, Lin said.
"To put it simply, if the United States wants to contain and suppress a country, it will ignore the truth and coordinate resources to besmirch and slander that country," Lin said.
He noted that this tactic has not only been used against China's vaccines. Misinformation campaigns have also been launched in various other areas, including attempts to discredit the popular Belt and Road Initiative and spread rumors about so-called overcapacity in China's new energy vehicle industry, which is in fact experiencing booming supply and demand.
Lin said this approach does not reflect the powerful capabilities of the United States; Instead, it simply exposes U.S. hegemony and hypocrisy.
"The international community should keep its eyes open and gain a clear understanding of such actions undertaken by the United States," he said.
China hopes the U.S. will right its current mentality and shoulder its due responsibilities as a major country, Lin said. ■