China has rejected allegations that it has been carrying out spying operations in Germany, describing the claims as slanderous.
"The intention behind this hype is quite obvious, namely to slander and suppress China and undermine the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe," said a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday.
China has always adhered to the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, the spokesman said. Germany's "Cold War mentality" must be overcome, he said, adding that emphasizing so-called espionage risks should not be misused for political operations against China.
The remarks follow the arrest of an employee of the German European Parliament lawmaker Maximilian Krah on suspicion of spying for China, according to security circles.
Federal prosecutors reported on the arrest in Dresden without naming Krah, who is from the far-right AfD. According to prosecutors, the arrested man is said to have passed on information from the European Parliament.
Krah was initially unavailable for comment, however the MEP told the Bild newspaper at Strasbourg airport that he only saw all of this on his mobile phone when he landed. As far as he knew, his colleague had only maintained "contacts with official Chinese offices in the embassy."
In a sepaerate incident, three suspected spies who were allegedly working for China were arrested on Monday in Germany.
The Chinese embassy in Berlin called on Germany to "stop exploiting the accusation of espionage to politically manipulate the image of China and defame China," China's official news agency Xinhua reported on Monday night.
