US President Donald Trump has once again sparked controversy when he accused China of interfering in the 2020 US presidential election.
He also accused the Chinese government of stealing about 220 million voter files containing personal information such as names, addresses and other sensitive data.
According to Trump, the incident was one of the largest election data leaks in the country's history.
However, the allegations are not new and have previously been denied by US intelligence agencies.
They stated that there was no evidence that China had successfully altered the voting process or the results of the 2020 election.
In fact, an official report published in 2021 also concluded that no foreign party had altered voter registration, the voting process, the vote count or the election results.
Trump's accusations were made at a time when relations between the US and China were seen to be in a more stable phase.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the US in September as part of efforts by the two countries to maintain better ties and continue a temporary truce in trade disputes.
The Chinese embassy in Washington also rejected the allegations, insisting that Beijing has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
A Chinese international relations expert also said that Beijing has no interest in interfering in the US election because there is no clear pro-China candidate.
Meanwhile, several Democratic Party leaders, including Senator Mark Warner, described Trump's allegations as baseless.
They stressed that all US intelligence agencies have concluded that China did not try to change even a single vote in the 2020 election.
Analysts say such allegations have the potential to damage relations between the world's two largest economies at a time when both are trying to improve diplomatic and trade ties.
