China has rejected U.S. criticisms against its recently drafted law on terrorism and urged Washington to refrain from applying "double standards" in fighting terrorism.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a press briefing that "We hope the United States will stop groundless accusations and respect China's law-making processes."

The message was in response to a question about the U.S. State Department's comments which expressed concern over the draft. Hong said that Increasing terrorist attacks pose a serious threat to China's national security and the life and property of its people. He added that the legislation is necessary to crack down on terrorism and that some of the bill's provisions are similar those to the US.

"While formulating our counter terrorism law, we learned from the legislatures of other countries, including the US," Hong said.

He stressed that fighting terrorism itself is part of the efforts to protect human rights, and that the Chinese government attaches importance to striking a balance between anti-terrorism measures and the protection of human rights.

The spokesman pointed out that since the internet is frequently used by terrorists to plan and conduct attacks, countries including the United States have enacted laws obligating Internet operators and service providers to providing assistance to law enforcement agencies.

He said that provisions in China's draft anti-terrorism law is completely reasonable and will not constitute a breach of corporate intellectual property rights or citizens' freedom of speech. The recent rise in attacks by terrorsists has prompted several countries to draft stricter laws against terrorism.

Tagsdouble standards, China and U.S., China Rejected U.S. Criticism, Anti-Terrorism Law, China Anti-Terrorism Law