BEIJING - China firmly opposes US smear and defamation against the country's development achievements in the artificial intelligence industry, urging the US side to discard bias and stop technological coercion against China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Spokesperson for the ministry Guo Jiakun made the remarks at a press briefing in response to a query about the US accusation of China regarding intellectual property of AI laboratories.

Noting the relevant claims by the US side are "utterly groundless", Guo said China urges the United States to respect facts, discard bias, stop technological coercion, and do more things that are conducive to sci-tech communication and cooperation between the two countries.