China refutes claims by US treasury secretary

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Tuesday blasted recent remarks made by United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, saying the US has no right to point fingers at China-Latin America cooperation.

His remarks came after Bessent said in an interview that China signed "rapacious deals marked as aid" and "added huge amounts of debt" to Latin American countries' balance sheets.

Lin refuted such accusations, saying that the US has long bullied and plundered Latin America, making Latin America a cut blood vessel, and Washington has no right to interfere in China-Latin America cooperation.

He told a regular news briefing that China has always carried out pragmatic cooperation in various fields with Latin American and Caribbean countries based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, which has effectively promoted the economic and social development of countries in the region and has been welcomed by the Latin American side.

As an important member of the Global South, he emphasized that China has always been committed to promoting unity and revitalization of the Global South.

Economic and trade cooperation between China and other countries, including those in the Global South, is based on international rules and market laws, Lin said.

Pragmatic cooperation across various sectors is not only conducive to improving the well-being of the people in developing countries, but also promote their economic transformation and upgrading, delivering tangible benefits to the prosperity and development of countries and their peoples, he added.