Beijing Lodges Protest Over Chinese Nationals Indicted for Cyberespionage in US

© Sputnik / Kirill Kallinikov

Beijing Lodges Protest 

Over Chinese Nationals 

Indicted for 

Cyber-espionage in US

21.12.2018(updated 08:45 21.12.2018) 

BEIJING (Sputnik) – Beijing opposes Washington’s move to indict two Chinese citizens for cyberespionage and has made a representation to the United States over the situation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said on Friday.

"This is a blatant violation of the basic principles of international relations. This [move] significantly undermines Chinese-US cooperation and is sordid in its nature. The Chinese side expresses its protest and has already made a representation to the US side," Hua said in a statement.

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The ministry emphasized that the Chinese government had never been engaged in theft of commercial data.

On Thursday, the US Department of Justice indicted two Chinese citizens for hacking and compromising clients in the United States and 11 other countries. The US authorities said the Chinese hackers attempted to commit the breaches in coordination with China’s intelligence services.

US-Chinese relations have been strained recently amid a bilateral trade row. Moreover, the United States considers China one of its adversaries, repeatedly accusing Beijing of undermining the US security.