China rejects US labeling of Confucius Institutes as security threat
- Washington last week added the Chinese cultural centers to its list of institutions that threaten US national security
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- Washington last week added the Chinese cultural centers to its list of institutions that threaten US national security
By Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD (AA) - China on Monday rejected Washington's designation of the Confucius Institute Cultural Centers as a threat to US national security, calling the move "vilification."
"We reject vilification and smears against Confucius Institute," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
"Educational exchange and cooperation between China and the US help enhance mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries. They are desired by both sides and benefit both sides and should not be held back or disrupted," he added.
The US State Department last week designated the Confucius Institute at American universities and campuses as a threat to US national security.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a video posted on social media, alleged that Confucius Institutes were operating under disguise at US universities and that the Pentagon had added them to its list of institutions that threaten Washington's national security.
"It turns out that 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities had popped up using different names and different charters, but with the same mission: to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students," Hegseth said.
Named after the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius, the institutes are China's public educational and cultural promotion programs.
Amir Latif Arain