Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian Photo: VCG

China rejected the groundless US accusations of alleged cyberattacks and urged the US to immediately stop its wrongdoing of abusing sanctions, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday.

Lin made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on reports that the US has indicted 12 Chinese nationals, including two officials, for a series of hacking attacks, including a breach of the US Treasury last year.  

According to a VOA report, the US Justice Department announced indictments Wednesday against 12 Chinese nationals, alleging they are involved in a "global hacking campaign," targeting US-based dissidents, news organizations, government agencies and a large religious organization.

Lin noted that in December 2024, Chinese cybersecurity agency exposed two latest cases of cyberattacks against Chinese high-tech companies from the US intelligence community. 

The US is the No.1 "hacking empire" in the world, and its practice reflects hypocritical double standards and is a typical move of "thief-crying-stop-thief," Lin said.

Li Yan, director of Institute of Technology and Cybersecurity at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that "the US has been distorting right and wrong, portraying itself as a victim in an attempt to achieve its goal of confronting and suppressing China."

The true picture is that the US has masterminded cyberattacks for a long time, and persistently engages in cyberattacks and hacking activities worldwide, Li said.

National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team Center of China (known as CNCERT) released two investigative reports in last December, exposing two recent cyberattacks by US intelligence agencies targeting major Chinese technology firms to steal trade secrets.

In one case, the reports revealed that since August 2024, an advanced materials research institute in China has reportedly been targeted by cyberattacks suspected to be orchestrated by US intelligence agencies. Additionally, a large high-tech enterprise specializing in smart energy and digital information has reportedly been under similar attacks since May 2023.

In January, Wang Lei, the coordinator for cyber and digital affairs at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with the Global Times that the Chinese side has firmly rejected US accusations of Chinese-linked cyberattacks, citing the lack of substantive evidence.

The US repeatedly hyped claims about so-called China-linked hacker groups, such as "Volt Typhoon" and "Salt Typhoon," while fabricating narratives around the so-called China cyber threat.

"It should not assume that being loud means one is right. It is not feasible to unilaterally set rules for other countries based on a so-called position of strength," Wang stressed.