Beijing has called on the US and Britain to stop politicizing the issue of cyber security, slandering China and imposing unilateral sanctions on the country, reports "Reuters".
"It is pure political maneuvering for the United States and the United Kingdom to pick up again the so-called cyberattacks carried out by China and to sanction Chinese individuals and organizations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jiang said at a regular briefing.
"China is extremely unhappy and firmly opposes this," he stressed.
Yesterday, US and British officials indicted, imposed sanctions and accused Beijing of a massive cyber-espionage campaign that is said to have affected millions of people.
Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic have named the hacking group APT31 (Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31) and said it is part of China's Ministry of State Security.
In turn, the Chinese Embassy in London called the accusations "completely fabricated and malicious slanders".
"Previously, China has provided technical clarifications and answers regarding information on the so-called APT31 provided by the British side. This clearly shows that the evidence provided by the British side is insufficient and the relevant conclusions lack professionalism," Lin pointed out.
Britain also accused Chinese hackers of trying to break into the email accounts of British lawmakers critical of the Asian country.
Lin pointed out that China has made an official statement to all concerned parties "and will take necessary measures to protect China's legitimate rights and interests.
Several other countries have also accused China of hacking and cyberattacks, claims the country has denied.
Earlier today, the New Zealand government said it had raised concerns with the Chinese government about its involvement in a state-sponsored cyber attack on the New Zealand parliament in 2021.
Earlier this year, the United States said it had launched an operation to combat a sweeping Chinese hacking operation that compromised thousands of Internet-connected devices.