China slams US national security allegations

BEIJING: Beijing on Friday lashed out at a claim by the US intelligence chief that China is the "greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide", calling it a "hodgepodge of lies".

The war of words comes as relations between the two superpowers have spiralled to their lowest point in decades and as Washington unveiled travel restrictions for members of the Chinese Communist Party.

US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece on Thursday that Chinese spies were using economic pressure to influence or undermine US legislators.

"The People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since World War II," he wrote. Beijing hit back angrily on Friday. "[Ratcliffe] only continues to repeat lies and rumours to slander and discredit China, and wantonly play up the Chinese threat," said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

"I think this is yet another hodgepodge of lies that the US government has been cooking up lately." Hua also accused the US of being "engaged in a Cold War mindset, advocating major power competition, and wantonly expanding its nuclear weapons arsenal".