ANKARA

China on Tuesday said that the arrests in Germany and Britain of people accused of spying for Beijing were designed to “smear and suppress” the country.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, during a news briefing in Beijing, was commenting on a series of questions regarding the arrest of three people in Germany and charges against two men in Britain accused of spying for China on Monday.

German prosecutors on Tuesday said that another individual, an aide to a German far-right politician standing in June’s European Union elections, has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing.

"We noted relevant reports and the media hype. But the truth is there for all to see. The so-called ‘threat of Chinese spies’ is not a new thing in Europe. Every time before or after China-Europe high-level interactions in recent years, there would be such a hype, with a clear intention of smearing and hitting China and souring the atmosphere of China-EU cooperation," Wang said.

He stressed that China carries out cooperation with Europe and all other countries on the basis of "mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and advances mutually beneficial cooperation with relevant parties in accordance with laws and regulations."

"We hope that relevant people in Germany will ditch the Cold War mentality and stop the political manipulation aimed at China with so-called ‘spy risks’,” he maintained.

Not just in Germany, Wang went on to say, Beijing "firmly" opposes such hype and urges relevant parties to stop spreading disinformation about the so-called “China spy threat and stop political manipulation and malicious smears against China."

"We would like to reiterate that the claim that China could be stealing UK intelligence is a groundless accusation and malicious smear, and we firmly oppose that accusation. Such malicious manipulation aimed at China should stop," he maintained.