(ANSA-AFP) - BEIJING, APR 23 - Beijing said Tuesday the arrest of an aide to a German far-right politician on suspicion of spying was designed to "smear and suppress" China. "We are aware of the reports and related hype," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, adding: "The intention of this kind of hype is very obvious... it is to smear and suppress China and to destroy the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe." The arrested man, named only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing information about negotiations at European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Asked about the arrest, Wang said: "In fact, it's clear for everyone to see recently that the so-called Chinese espionage threat theory is not a new thing in European public opinion. Germany's far-right AfD party said on Tuesday the arrest of an aide working for its leading candidate in upcoming European elections was "very disturbing". "As we have no further information on the case, we must wait for further investigations by federal prosecutors," said party spokesman Michael Pfalzgraf. (ANSA-AFP).