BEIJING -- The United States should make tangible efforts for regional stability and development, rather than pressuring Latin American countries to choose sides, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks in response to a query on recent comments by a US official suggesting that Latin American countries should choose sides between the United States and China.

Latin American and Caribbean countries are independent sovereign countries, Guo said, adding that other countries are in no position to tell them what to do, still less publicly or privately coerce and threaten them.

"China has always adhered to the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation in its friendly cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries. This has significantly enhanced the well-being of the peoples on both sides," he said.

Guo added that bloc confrontation runs counter to the trend of history and development, and is doomed to fail.

"We advise the United States that rather than spending time pressuring Latin American countries to choose sides, it should make concrete efforts that are conducive to the region's stability and development," he said.