China has cited alleged brutality by American police and the country’s high incidence of gun violence in its annual rebuttal of a US State Department report on human rights around the world that criticised China’s “severe” crackdown on lawyers.

The US government “wantonly infringed upon” civil rights and faced “rampant gun-related crime”, according to the report issued by China’s state council and reported by the official Xinhua news agency.

Human rights have long been a source of tension between the world’s two largest economies, especially since 1989, when the US imposed sanctions on China after a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Xi Jinping. Photograph: Reuters

China’s response follows Wednesday’s US report, which criticised Beijing’s “severe” crackdown on Chinese lawyers and law firms handling cases China considers politically sensitive.

The US report described human rights policies in 199 countries, and also focused on rights abuses in the Middle East.

China’s report, citing American news sources, criticised the US for inflicting civilian casualties in Syria and Iraq, excessive use of force by police, and eavesdropping on foreign nationals, including French politicians.

Asked about the US human rights report on Thursday, China’s foreign ministry said the politicisation of human rights was a futile effort to interfere in China’s stability and development.

“The United States’ so-called annual human rights report uses the issue of human rights to make irresponsible remarks about other countries’ internal politics,” ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular briefing.

China has long rejected criticism of its rights’ record and has pointed to its success at lifting millions out of poverty.

Its leaders periodically promise citizens democracy and human rights, but Xi Jinping’s administration has launched a sweeping crackdown on dissidents and activists.