'Obsessive' Washington should stop repeating 'lies'

Washington should stop "repeating fallacies" about US-China trade friction and put an end to its unilateral and protectionist moves, Beijing said on Friday, responding to US President Donald Trump's recent comments.

Trump said on Thursday that China "broke the deal" and the US tariffs "are having a devastating effect on China", according to Reuters. He also said China "is becoming a very weakened nation" due to the tariffs and wants to reach a deal with the US very much.

Dismissing the remarks at a daily news conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the US "seems obsessive" in "repeating these lies".

True confidence comes from going with the trend of the times and winning public support, not from repeating lies or illusions, Geng said, adding that the US' unilateral and protectionist measures have faced strong opposition from its people and widespread criticism from the international community.

"I would like to tell the US again not to overrate the effect of its rumors or underrate others' ability to make judgments," Geng said. "We hope the US will clearly understand the situation, pull back before it's too late and return to the right track," he said.

Earlier this month, Geng said China is capable of overcoming the impact that the US moves will have on its economy, and that the US's comments on the Chinese economy were false, after Trump said on Twitter companies will be leaving China due to the US tariffs, and that China wants a deal "so badly".

Also on Friday, Geng urged the US to stop attacking Huawei, a telecommunications company it has targeted during the trade friction.

"It is very disgraceful and immoral that the US uses its state power and set in motion the whole state apparatus to crack down on a private Chinese company," Geng said, adding that the US hasn't provided any evidence to prove that Huawei's products or services pose security risks.

"We hope the US will stop the wrong action, which is not at all commensurate with its status as a major country," he said.