China’s government on Tuesday denounced what it considers “political manipulation” behind the arrest of two US citizens accused by the United States of surveilling and harassing Chinese dissidents in New York. Chinese diplomatic spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news conference that his country firmly opposes US accusations that China is committing transnational repression and called on the US government to abandon Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices. US authorities arrested Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping in New York on suspicion of involvement in operations at a “clandestine police station” in the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown. According to Brooklyn US Attorney Breon Peace, the suspects helped locate and harass Chinese dissidents.
The arrest is part of an operation against what US authorities consider to be Chinese covert operations in the country and dozens of indictments against Chinese security officials. The Chinese government rejects the US accusations and calls on the US to reflect on its actions and abandon political manipulation and attacks against China.
Tensions between the two countries have escalated in recent years and have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and increased competition in technology and trade. China’s stance on the arrest of the two US citizens is defensive, accusing the US of inventing the so-called transnational repression narrative and defaming and slandering the Asian country.