'Don't use China as an issue': Beijing hits back after Trump alleges election 'meddling'

China on Friday asked Donald Trump to refrain from using the country as an “election issue” after the US president accused Beijing of “meddling” in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost while seeking re-election.“We urge the US side to reflect on its own conduct, stop making baseless accusations against China, refrain from using China as an election issue, and do more to promote China-US relations,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing while answering a question on Trump’s allegations.Asked whether Trump’s remarks would affect Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans to visit the US in September, Lin said, “We urge the US to stop making an issue of China in its elections and do something conducive to China-US relations.”Trump’s comments came ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress during the second half of his term.The US leader visited China in May — the first visit by a sitting American president since Trump himself travelled there in November 2017 — and held talks with Xi. Following the meeting, the Chinese president said both sides had reached important common understandings on maintaining stable economic and trade ties, expanding practical cooperation in various fields, and properly addressing each other’s concerns.During his visit, Trump also extended an invitation to Xi to make a reciprocal visit to the US, which the Chinese President accepted.Earlier, in his primetime address on Thursday (local time), Trump accused China of interfering in the 2020 election. The Republican also accused Beijing of the “illicit acquisition” of 220 million (22 crore) voter files containing personal information.“Beginning in 2020, China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million US voter files,” the president claimed.“This data loss presents an unprecedented election security nightmare… members of the deep state… worked to actively suppress and downplay information about the extent of China’s sinister election meddling, covering it up from both the President and the American people,” he added.The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the allegation, saying: “The US election is an internal matter of the US. Its outcome is determined by the votes of the American people. China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the US.”In 2020, Trump lost the presidential election to Democratic candidate Joe Biden. In November 2024, he defeated then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee after Biden decided not to seek re-election.(With PTI inputs)