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China vents outrage over U.S. cyberspying indictment

 
Published May 21, 2014

BEIJING — Outraged by U.S. cyberspying charges against members of a secretive Chinese military unit, China summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing for a dressing down, state media said Tuesday, and the Defense Ministry blasted the U.S. accusations as hypocritical.

The government published new statistics that it said showed massive cyberattacks on China originating from the United States. "Those activities target Chinese leaders, ordinary citizens and anyone with a mobile phone," the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. "In the meantime, the U.S. repeatedly accuses China of spying and hacking."

On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department unveiled criminal cyberespionage charges against five Chinese military officers. The indictment said they stole confidential business information, sensitive trade secrets and internal communications for competitive advantage.

The U.S. charges are certain to strain Washington's military relationship with China, which the Pentagon made a concerted effort to build up in recent years. A Pentagon spokesman, Rear Adm. John Kirby, said Tuesday that the Defense Department had been aware of the impending charges and hoped that they would not stymie cooperation on various fronts.

"The degree to which this affects the relationship is up to the Chinese," Kirby said.