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China Expresses Strong Dissatisfaction and Firm Opposition to US for Rallying a New Cybersecurity Smear Campaign

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun delivered a stern warning to the United States over its latest accusations of Chinese cyber espionage. China's strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the US's "new cybersecurity smear campaign" against China were made clear in response to the recent allegations.

"China always opposes and fights hacking activities in accordance with the law," Guo said, emphasizing that the country will not tolerate such malicious actions. Furthermore, China firmly opposes spreading disinformation out of political agendas, according to Guo.

Guo's statements come on the heels of a 37-page advisory published by an unusually broad coalition of countries, including the US, its traditional English-speaking allies, and nations like Germany, Italy, and Japan. The coalition accused three Chinese companies - Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology, and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology - of providing "cyber-related products and services to China's intelligence services."

This move has been met with skepticism by many experts, who point out that the US has a history of accusing specific Chinese and other foreign entities of involvement in cyber espionage. It is also notable that this incident occurred as the US is seeking to expand its coalition against China in cyberspace.

The US's Hypocrisy on Cybersecurity

"This is typical hypocrisy of claiming itself to be the victim while it's the other way around," Guo said. The "PRISM" program, disclosed by Edward Snowden, has shown that the US has been proven to be the world's largest "hacking empire" and "eavesdropping empire." This contradicts the US's claims of being a victim of cyber espionage.

Even countries considered allies of the US were once victims of its eavesdropping and surveillance. The US is now attempting to falsely accuse China of "cyber espionage," a move that has sparked widespread criticism from experts.

The Coalition Against China

This 37-page advisory was cosigned by countries such as the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. The US regularly calls out specific Chinese and other foreign entities over their alleged involvement in cyber espionage, often in conjunction with other members of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance.

However, Wednesday's statement was seen as a coordinated effort to smear China under the pretext of cybersecurity. According to reports from Chinese cybersecurity institutions, the so-called "Volt Typhoon" - hyped up by the US - was actually a transnational ransomware group.

The US's Motives

"Who is engaged in massive cyber-eavesdropping? Who is the largest hacking empire?" Guo asked. The international community knows full well the answer. According to US media outlets, this incident occurred because of the "backdoor," originally opened by the US intelligence service to eavesdrop on its own institutions and citizens.

"Such 'backdoor' in the US's own telecommunication system is not only a 'US feature,' but also the 'best practices' of 'Five Eyes,'" Guo noted. The expert committee on counter-terrorism and cyber security governance at the China Society of Police Law, Qin An, echoed this sentiment.

The Growing Competition

"As China's independent innovation advances, its chip manufacturing capacity is improving," Qin said. This growth in technological capabilities is seen as a threat by the US, which is trying to expand its coalition against China in cyberspace.

China will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard its own security interests, Guo said. The country will not be intimidated by such malicious accusations and will instead focus on building its cyber offensive and defensive capabilities.

The "China Threat" Narrative

"The competition between China and the US in areas such as semiconductors also affects cyberspace," Qin noted. As China's chip manufacturing capacity improves, the US is amplifying the "China threat" narrative to counter this growth.

"This trend reflects their apprehensions as well as their efforts to discredit China and promote the 'China threat' narrative in pursuit of their own strategic objectives," Qin said.