A growing number of stories on cyber attacks emanating from China have emerged after the releasing of a 75-page report by Mandiant, a US cyber security firm, which levels accusations that hackers sponsored by the Chinese military have stolen sensitive security secrets and pilfered information from large US corporations.

These US accusations show that the problem of network security has emerged as a new issue between China and the US.

In some degree, the emergence of this new topic is inevitable. It seems like a new version of "China threat theory."

The "hacking threat" mentioned in the report is not a general threat as before. The US accuses Chinese military of supporting hackers to steal trade secrets to gain an unfair commercial advantage over US companies. This report almost indicates that the whole of the Chinese high-tech industry is developing by stealing secrets and through unfair competition.

After the releasing of the report, the US government launched the Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of US Trade Secrets. It published a series of methods to prevent US trade secrets from being stolen and even named some Chinese companies.

These methods have obviously violated the principles of free trade which the US has long advocated. However, the releasing of the Mandiant report makes it possible that these methods can seem to be aimed to defend US national security and maintain US national interests, and so shields them in a cloak of righteousness.

It also reflects that the US can no longer stay calm about China's increasingly commercial might and begins to treat it as a security issue.

The US is still stuck in the kind of Cold War mentality criticized by Chinese President Xi Jinping recently in Moscow. The US has not yet got accustomed to a new era in which global affairs cannot be decided by only one country and its alliances. That's why it tries to transfer internal contradictions by creating an imaginary enemy.

From the US perspective, there is competition on development models, ideologies and social systems between China and the US. Currently, the US GDP faces a risk of being surpassed by China. If the US doesn't find problems in the Chinese development model, others may appreciate the advantages of the China model. This prompts the US to make Chinese hacking a security issue and link it with US national interests.

The US itself has its own definition of network security. It has to make sure of its dominance in cyberspace and prevent its national interests from being damaged by others through the Internet.

However, when coming to issues such as promoting political change in other countries, the US believes that the flow of information should be free. It is the US code of conduct in network security. Obviously, the US has double standards on this issue.

The US holds that its security can represent global security, while China believes that only when the global security is ensured can it be safe.

Facing US accusations, it is not an either-or situation for China to simply answer with yes or no. Instead, China has to propose its own strategy on this issue and publish its own understanding of network security.

Then China can use these understandings to negotiate with the US and establish some common concepts and a shared order in network security.

Such negotiations should not only be limited to China and the US. It should also include other countries.

Chinese leaders have emphasized that China should seek new ways to develop relations with major countries. We can take the network security issue as an experimental plot.

Despite different national conditions and interests, the international community should establish a common code of conduct.

However, how to dialogue with the US, which has a long-standing mind-set of double standards, is the major problem China has to face on this issue in future.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Shu Meng based on an interview with Shen Yi, associate professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University. shumeng@globaltimes.com.cn