China rejected Australia's claim that the former should be considered a developed economy, saying Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's suggestion echoed U.S. claims regarding China's status.
"China still has a long way to go to achieve full modernization," said the Chinese embassy in Australia, adding that China's per capita GDP is only 15.6% of that of the U.S. and 17% of Australia.
Morrison gave the remark in a speech in Chicago earlier this week, calling on global bodies to reform rules to reflect China's developed status, Bloomberg News reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump said at the United Nations General Assembly that China, the second-largest economy in the world, should not be permitted to declare itself a developing country.
The Chinese embassy said that while Beijing has made "remarkable achievements" in economic and social development over the past decades, there is still "a big gap" between China and the developed countries in terms of overall development.
Ties between Australia and China, which is the former's largest trading partner, deteriorated in 2018 after Australia prohibited Huawei Technologies Co. from participating in the 5G bidding process and introduced laws to prevent interference from Beijing.
While there have been efforts to repair some of the damage, the latest exchange of remarks could renew tensions between the two sides
