China slams US 'rumours and lies'

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Michael Martina

China has denounced US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, accusing him of fabricating rumours after he said the CEO of China's Huawei Technologies was lying about his company's ties to the Beijing government.

The United States placed Huawei on a trade blacklist last week, effectively banning US firms from doing business with the world's largest telecom network gear maker and escalating a trade battle between the world's two biggest economies.