NEW YORK — Chinese Americans have not only made great contributions to the United States, but also played an important, constructive bridge-building role in enhancing US-China relations, said a prominent Chinese American leader, refuting the FBI Director Christopher Wray's recent claims over "Chinese spies."

"It's so important for us to stand up and speak out, Wray's remarks are disturbing and prejudicial," said Frank H. Wu, chairman of the Committee of 100 (C100), a New York-based non-profit organization of prominent Chinese American leaders, in a recent interview with Xinhua via phone.

In recent remarks to the US Senate Intelligence Committee, the FBI director said Chinese academics or "non-traditional collectors" -- "professors, scientists, students" studying and working in the United States in "basically every discipline" -- may be covertly gathering intelligence for the Chinese government.

"The most troubling of Wray's comments is that Chinese Americans' contribution to the society has been ignored," said Wu, previously served as chancellor and dean at University of California Hastings College of Law and continues as a distinguished professor of the school.

"In every field from the arts to the sciences, business to entertainment, politics to sports, Chinese Americans are loyal and hard-working citizens no different than their neighbors," he said.

Chinese immigrants, many of whom first arrived as students, have contributed immeasurably to the richness and success of the United States, including those Chinese Americans winning Nobel prizes in the sciences while working in America, he said.

Wu urged American government and legislature leaders to stop blaming China for the country's domestic politics.

"Now every one on both sides of the Pacific Ocean understands US-China relationship is the most important for the faith of the globe, and Chinese Americans have played and will continue to play a very constructive bridge-building role," he said. "The relationship between the two societies, governments and economies will shape our future, we are more needed than ever."

The C100 condemned Wray's comments in a statement on Friday, saying that targeting a whole group of people purely based on their race and national origin "fans the flames of hysteria."

"At this time when there is great potential for polarization and misunderstanding, C100 cautions against stoking fears through broad-brush stereotyping of any group of people," it said.