BEIJING — China on Monday dismissed a warning issued by the Obama administration about Chinese government agents operating secretly in the United States and accused Washington of undermining Beijing’s crackdown on corruption, according to the state news media.

The diplomatic warning from Washington had alleged that Chinese security agents were working in the United States covertly to pressure Chinese suspected of economic crimes into returning home. That would constitute a violation of American law, which requires foreign agents first to obtain permission from the attorney general.

The agents are operating covertly in the United States as part of Operation Fox Hunt, the Chinese government’s global campaign to repatriate Chinese fugitives and recover allegedly ill-gotten gains, American officials said.

Responding to an article published on Sunday by The New York Times, China’s official news agency Xinhua on Monday called the order for Chinese agents to leave the United States a “regrettable move” and accused the Obama administration of breaking bilateral law enforcement agreements. No mention was made of the Chinese agents illegally operating in America or of their use of threats and other forms of harassment against targets, actions that United States officials say they can prove.