China has warned the US not to use calls for internet freedom as an excuse to meddle in other country's affairs. The foreign ministry comments came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced an initiative to help dissidents around the world get past government internet controls. In her second major speech on internet technology, Mrs Clinton called for the world community to adopt common standards for internet use. Speaking at a Washington university on Tuesday, she criticised those countries that sought to suppress its citizens with web-based tactics. She said, the recent internet-fuelled toppling of rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and protests in Iran, showed governments could no longer choose which freedoms to grant to citizens. Mrs Clinton said China faced a “dictator's dilemma” and risked being left behind as the rest of the world embraced new technologies.Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that internet users in China enjoy freedom of speech in accordance with the law. Speaking at a regular news briefing on Thursday, he said China was willing to work with other countries on such issues but was against any other countries using internet freedom as a pretext for interfering in others' internal affairs. China has the world's largest internet market, with 457 million people online.