Beijing, China – China accused the US of "distorting facts" and smearing its political system, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Beijing's censorship could not "erase" the memory of Tiananmen Square.

"The world marks 37 years since the Chinese Communist Party ordered its troops to attack thousands of peaceful demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square," Rubio wrote in a press statement released by the State Department.

"We remember their lives and honor their legacy. No amount of censorship can erase the past. Those who sacrificed to uphold their unalienable rights of free expression and peaceful assembly will be vindicated someday."

His comments marked the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, when the Chinese government sent troops and tanks to crush protesters calling for reform in Beijing, killing thousands.

China's Foreign Ministry responded angrily to Rubio's comments, which he doubled down on in a press conference on Wednesday, accusing the US of smears.

"The Chinese government has long since reached a clear conclusion regarding the political turmoil that occurred in the late 1980s," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular news briefing on Thursday.

"The relevant erroneous remarks by the US side distort historical facts, smear China's political system and development path, and interfere in China's internal affairs," she said.

This year, authorities reportedly prevented the families of those who died in 1989 from visiting their graves at Beijing's Wan'an Cemetery, Amnesty International calling the move "a heartless act."

Beijing also moved in recent years to snuff out all public commemorations in Hong Kong, where an annual candlelight vigil was held for decades before the imposition of a national security law in 2020.

The spat comes mere weeks after both Rubio and President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tiananmen Square during a diplomatic summit in Beijing.