BEIJING, Oct 8 (Reuters) – The Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday that China had no intention of intervening in U.S. domestic affairs when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Beijing investigate his Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son.

The Republican president, the subject of an impeachment inquiry in the U.S. Congress for asking Ukraine’s president to investigate the Bidens, last week suggested that Beijing “start an investigation” into the 2020 presidential hopeful and his son Hunter, who had business interests in China.

Trump has said Biden and his son are “corrupt” but has shown no evidence to back that up.

“China has always pursued non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular news briefing.

“We have no intention of intervening in the United States. Our position has remained consistent and clear on this,” Geng said without elaborating.

Trump’s appeal to China was particularly striking as the two countries are set to hold another round of talks in the United States this week to resolve a bitter trade war.

Questioned about whether he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to look into the Bidens, Trump told reporters on Thursday: “I haven’t, but it’s certainly something we can start thinking about.”

23 PHOTOSDonald Trump faces impeachment inquirySee GalleryDonald Trump faces impeachment inquiryStaunch Trump ally Sen. Chuck Grassley pushes back against calls to out whistleblowerSpeaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., listens as Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., and other House Democrats discuss H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which passed in the House but is being held up in the Senate, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Sept. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 01: Tourists make photographs inside the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on October 01, 2019 in Washington, DC. Under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House of Representatives has opened an impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump following revelation that a whistleblower filed a complaint that Trump was seeking damaging information about a political opponent from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 30 : President Donald J. Trump talks to reporters about the whistleblower after participating in a ceremonial Swearing-In of the Secretary of Labor Gene Scalia in the Oval Office at the White House on Monday, Sept 30, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)KIEV, UKRAINE – OCTOBER 01: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media on October 1, 2019 in Kiev, Ukraine. Ukraine has been at the core of a political storm in U.S. politics since the release of a whistleblower’s complaint suggesting U.S. President Donald Trump, at the expense of U.S. foreign policy, pressured Ukraine to investigate Trump’s rival, Joe Biden, and Biden’s son, Hunter.(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on September 24, 2019 showsUS Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, on September 24, 2019 and US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, September 20, 2019. – Amid mounting allegations of abuse of power by the US President, Pelosi announced the start of a formal impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, the first step in a process that could ultimately lead to Trump’s removal from office. (Photos by Mandel NGAN and SAUL LOEB / AFP)(Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN,SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., reads a statement announcing a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., steps away from a podium after reading a statement announcing a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)U.S. President Donald Trump reacts to audience applause after his address to the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to address the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)WASHINGTON, DC – September 24: Surrounded by journalists, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff (D-CA) emerges from a meeting with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, before the delivers a speech concerning a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Tuesday September 24, 2019. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)Members of the White House press corps – holding in the Trump Bar at Trump Tower – watch U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) live on television as she announces an impeachment investigation of U.S. President Donald Trump in New York City, New York, U.S. September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstU.S. President Donald Trump ATTENDS a bilateral meeting with Iraq’s President Barham Salih on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York City, New York, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks to news reporters following an impeachment proceeding announcement, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Tom BrennerU.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) walks through a House corridor following an Impeachment Proceeding announcement, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Tom BrennerU.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL.) speaks to news reporters following an Impeachment Proceeding announcement, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Tom BrennerTHE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON — Episode 1125 — Pictured: Host Jimmy Fallon as Donald Trump during the “Trump U.N. Speech” Cold Open on September 24, 2019 — (Photo by: Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)Protesters with “Kremlin Annex” call to impeach President Donald Trump in Lafayette Square Park in front of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 24:U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to the media in response to an announcement by Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at the Capitol Building September 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry today after allegations that President Donald Trump sought to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate leading Democratic presidential contender, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, which was the subject of a reported whistle-blower complaint that the Trump administration has withheld from Congress.(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 24:Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) walks with her press secretary, Connor Joseph, to a House Democratic caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol where formal impeachment proceedings against U.S. President Donald Trump were announced by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi September 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. Spanberger is one of seven freshman members of the House with national intelligence or military backgrounds who recently spoke out in an opinion piece calling for an investigation of Trump. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 24:Reporters and congressional staff members wait outside a House Democratic caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol where formal impeachment proceedings against U.S. President Donald Trump were announced by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi September 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry after allegations that President Donald Trump sought to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate leading Democratic presidential contender, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, which was the subject of a reported whistle-blower complaint that the Trump administration has withheld from Congress. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 24: Reporters crowd around Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., as he leaves the House Democrats caucus meeting in the Capitol on impeachment of President Trump on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 24: Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, arrives for the House Democrats caucus meeting in the Capitol on impeachment of President Trump on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)Up Next

See Gallery

Trump’s remarks on China have also stiffened the resolve of Democrats in the House of Representatives to push ahead with an inquiry into whether he should be impeached following revelations by an anonymous whistleblower who said Trump asked Ukraine in July to investigate the Bidens.

Trump froze $400 million in U.S. aid to Ukraine shortly before speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, prompting accusations from Democrats that he had misused U.S. foreign policy for personal gain.

Trump has described the impeachment probe as “crap.”

Some Republicans have criticized Biden for taking his son on the Air Force Two vice presidential plane in 2013 to China, a trip that came months after Hunter became an unpaid board member of a new investment fund with a Chinese private equity manager.

Hunter Biden has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The younger Biden was also on the board of a Ukrainian gas company at a time when the United States and Europe were trying to woo Ukraine away from next-door-neighbor Russia.

Source: Read Full Article