China accuses US of politicising cyber security

China's government on Monday criticized US President Donald Trump's suggestion that hackers from China, not Russia, might be behind a cyber espionage campaign against the United States.

Trump on Saturday scoffed at assertions by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials that the Kremlin was behind attempts to spy on federal agencies.

Trump, without offering evidence, said "it may" be China.

The foreign ministry in Beijing said China opposes cyber spying and has cracked down on cyber crime.

"The United States has politicized the issue of cybersecurity without conclusive evidence and continuously spread false information and thrown mud at China in an attempt to tarnish China's image," said a ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin.

"We hope the United States will take a more responsible attitude on cyber security," Wang said.

Along with the US and Russia, China is widely regarded as one of the most advanced countries in developing cyber warfare capabilities.

The US government charged two Chinese citizens in July with carrying out long-running cyber spying since 2009 aimed at stealing information about coronavirus vaccines, weapons and human rights activists.

Chinese military officers and others have been indicted since 2014 on US charges of carrying out hacking attacks to steal commercial secrets.

Wang also criticized a US law that may delist Chinese companies from the US stock exchange, saying the US government is politicizing business relations between the two countries.

His comments came after the US Congress passed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act in early December.