"Pompeo's claims are a malicious attack on the Communist Party of China and the country’s social system. He groundlessly criticized China's domestic and foreign policy. Pompeo's claims do not take into account facts, distort the truth, and are full of ideological prejudices and Cold War ideas. This is all a hodgepodge of political lies about China, fabricated recently by US officials," spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
China, he went on, "expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute protest in this regard" and has "already made strong representations to the United States."
"History and facts have already proved that China's chosen path of development is absolutely correct, and it has received the full support of the country's people," Wang argued.
The diplomat reiterated that China adheres to an independent peaceful foreign policy and a peaceful path of development. Beijing has never sought domination or expansion, has always been a builder of peace and a defender of the world order, the official added.
In a keynote speech on Thursday, Pompeo called for a "new alliance of democracies" to counter China with combined economic and military force. The official said that if the "free world" does not change, communist China "will surely change us."
He also warned against returning to "the old paradigm of blind engagement" with Beijing.
