China obviously has something to gain, but it's also obvious that they have more to gain from being honest in an overt publication like this than they do from being dishonest.

China very obviously stands to gain from weakening US hedgemony, coupled with the non-stop US-based attacks on China. China is returning what the US throws at it in kind, simple as that.

It's an overt publication from the Chinese government. What reason do they have to lie? That would harm the credibility of the Chinese government, which is something that's pretty strong in the Global South.

“We’ve investigated ourselves and found we’ve done nothing wrong.”