BEIJING - China urges the United States to reflect on its hegemonic bullying and plunder of developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and cease distorting and slandering China, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks in response to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's recent remarks in Latin America, where he claimed that Chinese investment constitutes "predatory behavior" and leads to excessive debt that local governments cannot repay.

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The United States maliciously spreads false information with the aim of sowing discord between China and other countries, but this will not succeed, Guo said.

China has always observed the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefits, openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation in its investment cooperation with countries around the world, he said. China respects the will of all relevant countries, effectively promotes economic development and the improvement of living standards in other countries, and brings tangible benefits to local people in those countries, he added.

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The so-called debt burden is nothing but hype, and related claims against China disregard the facts. Who exactly is engaged in coercion and plunder is evident to all, Guo noted.