Cyber charges put more strain on US-China ties

By: 11 years ago

This wanted poster is displayed at the Justice Department in Washington, Monday, May 19, 2014, after Attorney General Eric Holder, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin, U.S. Attorney for Western District of Pennsylvania David Hickton and FBI Executive Associate Director Robert Anderson participated in a news conference where Holder announced that a U.S. grand jury has charged five Chinese hackers with economic espionage and trade secret theft, the first-of-its-kind criminal charges against Chinese military officials in an international cyber-espionage case. The indictment of five Chinese military officials on cyber espionage charges will intensify friction between Beijing and Washington. Those tensions have only been growing as China gets bolder in asserting its territorial claims in disputed waterways in East Asia. AP

WASHINGTON—The indictment of five Chinese military officials on cyber espionage charges will intensify friction between Beijing and Washington.

Those tensions have only been growing as China gets bolder in asserting its territorial claims in disputed waterways in East Asia.

That doesn’t mean there will be a fracture in the U.S.-China relationship, which remains vital for both of the world powers.

But it raises major doubts about the ability of the U.S. and China to manage their differences, less than a year after President Barack Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) met in California, hoping to set a positive tone for the relationship.

China reacted swiftly to the indictment announced Monday. It rejected the accusations as “ungrounded and absurd.” It also pulled out of talks on cyber security.