China blasts ‘unfounded smears’ as Trump’s election claims threaten diplomatic thaw

AI Summary

China has strongly rejected accusations from former US President Donald Trump alleging election interference and data theft. The accusations have heightened diplomatic tensions and jeopardized the prospective thaw in Sino-American relations.

US President Donald Trump launched a sharp attack on China late on Thursday (Washington time), accusing Beijing of interfering in US elections in a move that has strained a fragile thaw in ties and cast doubt on future high-level engagements. In a prime-time address from the White House that lasted nearly 30 minutes, Trump accused China of orchestrating “what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history”. He claimed Beijing stole 220 million US voter files, including...