China denounces G7's criticism on issues concerning internal affairs

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the UK expressed on Monday strong opposition to a joint communique issued by the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) in which the group of nations criticized Beijing over issues concerning China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Taiwan.

In a statement, the spokesperson said the criticism was based on distorted facts and once again urged the group to stop meddling in China's internal affairs.

"We urge the U.S. and other members of the G7 to respect the facts, recognize the situation, stop slandering China, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, stop harming China's interests, and do more things that are conducive to promoting international cooperation instead of artificially creating confrontations and frictions," the spokesperson said.

G7 on Sunday wrapped up its first in-person summit in almost two years in Britain's southwestern resort of Carbis Bay in Cornwall.

Besides criticism on the three regions, the G7 leaders also censured China on other issues including trade policy.

In response, the spokesperson strongly denied the accusation of following "non-market" policies. China's total tariff level has been reduced to 7.5 percent since November 2018 and the country is committed to opening up and building up a market environment where domestic and foreign enterprises are treated equally and compete on a level playing field, the spokesperson said.

Speaking of COVID-19 origin tracing, the spokesperson said it is a scientific issue and China has always maintained an open and transparent attitude on it. The embassy condemned the accusations made by some countries such as the U.S. against China, saying that political manipulation hindered global cooperation on tracing the virus' origin.

Moreover, the Chinese Embassy in Canada also slammed Canada on Monday for attacking China over the so-called human rights issue during the G7 summit.

A spokesperson for the embassy said in a statement that Canada's accusation that China is engaging in arbitrary detention of people is "complete nonsense."

As to the cases of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, the spokesperson said they were prosecuted for crimes undermining China's national security, and China's judicial organs are handling the cases independently in accordance with the law.

The spokesperson pointed out that Huawei's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou has been detained by Canada for over two and a half years despite the fact that she hasn't violated any Canadian law, which clearly shows how Canada arbitrarily arrests and detains foreign citizens.

"China's determination to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests is unwavering. We urge Canada and other G7 countries to abide by international law and the basic norms of international relations and stop any acts that interfere in China's internal affairs and provoke confrontation between countries," said the spokesperson.