China firmly opposes US restrictions on bilateral people-to-people exchanges: spokesperson

BEIJING -- China firmly opposes and strongly condemns US officials' attacks on China's political system and the US further restrictions on cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a question on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent statement on imposing visa restrictions on Chinese officials.

Hua said China firmly opposes the vicious attacks by the likes of Pompeo on China's political system and the US further restrictions on cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Hua said some anti-China forces in the United States stubbornly adhere to the Cold War mentality, attempt to provoke China-US ideological confrontation and further undermine bilateral relations.

Such acts completely violate the fundamental interests of the two peoples, go against the trend of history and are doomed to fail, she said.

"China will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests," Hua added.