China says US hit by racism, police violence, slams Washington double standards

China says the ongoing unrest in the United States over the tragic killing of an unarmed black man by the police has highlighted the severe problems of racism and police violence there.

The widespread protests broke out in the US after video footage showed a white Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of a 46-year-old black man, George Floyd, for nearly nine minutes before he died on May 25.

His death caused an ongoing outrage across a nation that is politically and racially divided during a polarizing presidential campaign, reigniting protests that have flared repeatedly in recent years over police killings of black Americans.

"Black people’s lives are also lives. Their human rights must also be guaranteed,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian during a press conference in capital Beijing on Monday, referring to the death in custody of George Floyd.

“The current situation reflects once more the severity of the problems of racism and police violence in the US,” he added.

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Separately on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying also took aim at the White House.

“I can't breathe,” she said on Twitter, with a screenshot of a tweet by US State Department Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus that had criticised China's policy in Hong Kong.  Hua was quoting the words Floyd was heard saying repeatedly before his death.

“All lives matter. We stand firmly with our African friends. We strongly oppose all forms of racial discrimination and inflammatory expressions of racism and hatred,” she said in a separate tweet.

China warns US of counterattack over Hong Kong curbs

Beijing has also lambasted Washington’s double standards in supporting Hong Kong’s separatist protesters.

Washington has for months been supporting Hong Kong separatist and anti-government protesters, who in many cases turned to violence, including vandalizing public property. It has also expressed great concern for Hong Kong’s so-called autonomy recently after Beijing passed a proposal for National Security Law on the island.  

The new law is expected to criminalize sedition, secession, and subversion against the mainland. It would also pave the way for Chinese national security institutions to operate in the city for the first time since 1997, when Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule.

Last month, US President Donald Trump warned that Washington would react “very strongly” to the new law in due time.

On Friday, he said that he would restrict Chinese graduate students and start reversing the special status enjoyed by semi-autonomous Hong Kong in customs and other areas in protest against the new national security law.

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The Chinese prime minister says China and the US should manage their differences and respect to each others’ core interests.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Zhao responded that “any words and actions that harm the interests of China will be met with counter-attacks on the Chinese side.”

He also stressed that Washington’s measures “seriously interfere” in China's domestic affairs and undermine Washington-Beijing relations.

Zhao also said that the White House’s response to the ongoing anti-racism protests in the US was a "textbook example of its world-famous double standards.”

“Why does the US lionize the so-called Hong Kong independence and black violence elements as heroes and activists, while calling people who protest against racism 'rioters'?" he asked.

Hong Kong was rocked by turbulent protests starting in June last year against a proposed extradition bill. The proposal was later withdrawn but the protests continued and became more violent, endangering the lives and properties of citizens.

The protesters have been demanding Hong Kong’s secession since then. Beijing says the US and Britain have been fanning the flames of the unrest in Hong Kong by supporting the protesters.

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