Beijing lashed out on Friday at U.S. Vice President Mike Pence after Washington's No.2 lobbed multiple allegations at China.

Pence delivered his Thursday address at Washington's Hudson Institute and he accused China of "malign" efforts to undermine U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of next month's congressional elections. He also charged that Beijing had directed reckless military actions in the South China Sea.

Beyond the upcoming midterms, Pence alleged, China was targeting Trump's 2020 re-election bid with "covert actors, front groups, and propaganda outlets to shift Americans' perception of Chinese policies" and was using its tariffs to hurt states where Trump has strong support.

"China wants a different American president," Pence said.

Pence also said China had deployed anti-ship and anti-air missiles on artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, despite promises not to militarize them. He accused Beijing of "reckless harassment" in an incident on Sunday in which a Chinese naval vessel nearly collided with a U.S. destroyer near the Spratly islands.