From calling her a "big mouth" to making Monica Lewinsky jokes, China has reacted furiously at US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's recent comments about China's record on women's rights.

Mrs Clinton said in a tweet on Sunday that Chinese President Xi Jinping was "shameless" for hosting a United Nations conference on women's rights that day.

Mr Xi has come under fire for hosting the summit as several women's rights activists were held earlier this year for planning a demonstration against sexual harassment on public transport.

Rights groups say several female human rights activists remain in detention.

Mrs Clinton has made women's rights a signature part of her campaign.

Chinese state media have taken care to cultivate an affable and lovable image of President Xi Jinping. Calling someone "shameless" is also a particularly bad insult in Chinese culture, which abhors "losing face".

State media on Monday thus unsurprisingly reacted with fury, with a strongly-worded editorial by The Global Times put out in both and Chinese and carried widely in other local media outlets.

It accused Mrs Clinton of aping Republican candidate Donald Trump - who has himself made provocative remarks about China - in an attempt to gain votes through China-bashing.

In its English editorial, Global Times called her "a rabble-rouser" engaged in "ignonimous shenanigans" - but in Chinese it was even blunter: "It looks like Hillary is in a panicked frenzy, her eyes have turned red... She has started to copy Trump's speaking style and allowed herself to become a fierce big mouth."

"She really has lowered herself. Chinese people aren't angry at her, but we now despise her a little."

 Source: BBC