China refutes report from Australian institute

BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday refuted a report from an Australian institute for strategic policy, which claimed China is collecting intelligence through "thousands" of organizations, affecting overseas Chinese communities and foreign elites and promoting Chinese interests.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying told a news briefing that this institute has long received financial support from the United States government and U.S. arms dealers. It is keen on concocting and hyping anti-China topics.

"The academic credibility of the institute is seriously in question," said Hua, adding that this very institute also concocted an absurd report related to the Xinjiang issue.

China has always insisted on developing ties with other countries based on the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, said Hua.

"Interfering in other countries' internal affairs has never been part of China's diplomacy, nor is it what we excel at. We hope that external forces will stop trying to make this an issue," she added.