China accuses US of 'severe infringements' on human rights in report

China has accused the US of “serious infringement on citizens’ civil rights” and “systematic racial discrimination” in a report issued in riposte to criticism from Washington.

Beijing claimed the Americans posed as “the guardian of human rights” despite having a blemished record, which China alleged also included a flawed democratic system and a “widening rich-poor divide”.

Last week the US State Department named the Chinese government as a “morally reprehensible” regime that violated human rights on a daily basis.

In an annual report on international human rights, the US also ranked China alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea as a threat to global security.

Beijing typically responds to the US report with its own criticism of Washington.

“It seems that in this world only the United States’ human rights situation is perfect,” China's State Council said in its rebuttal on Tuesday. “Looking back on 2017, those with even the slightest sense of justice can see that the United States’ own human rights record is, as usual, notorious for its misdeeds, and continues to worsen.”

China's report referenced a US study which found African-Americans were seven times more likely to be mistakenly jailed for murder, as well as statistics that showed rising levels of violent crime.

It also took aim at what it claimed were “serious abuses in the US style of democracy”.

“US money politics keeps fermenting, and the rich guide the direction of politics,” the report said. “The weak face increasingly harsh restrictions on voting, and scandals involving politicians are frequent.”

The report was carried by the state-run Xinhua news agency and cited international media including the BBC and CNN as its sources.

Human rights have long been a source of tension between the world’s two largest economies, particularly since 1989, when the US imposed sanctions on China after a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

China routinely rejects criticism of its rights record and has pointed to its success in lifting millions out of poverty.

But the ruling Communist Party tolerates no political dissent and President Xi Jinping’s administration has overseen a sweeping crackdown on rights lawyers and activists.

China is believed to execute thousands of people each year, more than any other country, although the precise number of death penalties imposed remains a state secret.