China yesterday downplayed an accusation by US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that Beijing had tried to “hack into everything that doesn’t move in America.”
At a campaign event in New Hampshire on Saturday, Clinton said the US must be “fully vigilant” about China’s military, adding that Beijing had stolen commercial secrets from defence contractors and “huge amounts of government information.”
Beijing has in the past expressed outrage over US government claims it engages in state-sponsored hacking of commercial information, saying China is itself a victim of hacking attacks.
Asked about Clinton’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the two sides had taken a “constructive spirit” in tackling the issue.
“China and the US have taken a constructive spirit and approach to strengthening dialogue and cooperation to jointly face various challenges in line with the interests of both sides in a way that is conducive to peace and prosperity in the region and the world,” Hua told a regular news briefing.
Clinton is the front-runner to win the Democratic nomination for the November 2016 presidential election.