China slams espionage claim after aide to German MEP arrested

Beijing said Tuesday the arrest of an aide to a German far-right politician on suspicion of spying was designed to "smear and suppress" China.

"We are aware of the reports and related hype," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, adding: "The intention of this kind of hype is very obvious... it is to smear and suppress China and to destroy the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe."

The arrested man, named only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing information about negotiations at European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Asked about the arrest, Wang said: "In fact, it's clear for everyone to see recently that the so-called Chinese espionage threat theory is not a new thing in European public opinion.

"In recent years, a new round of hyping up often comes up before and after high-level interactions between China and Europe."

Tuesday's announcement of the MEP aide's arrest followed the arrest of three German nationals accused of passing on secret information to China.

In Britain, two men were charged with handing over "articles, notes, documents or information" to China between 2021 and last year.

"What we want to emphasise is that China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs to cooperate with countries around the world, including Europe," Wang said.

"We hope that relevant personnel in Germany will abandon their Cold War mentality and stop using the so-called espionage threat to engage in anti-China political manipulation."