Summary Beijing has asked that Washington "immediately correct its mistake and withdraw the 'indictment'.
BEIJING (AFP) - China on Monday rejected as "absurd" the US indictment of five of its military officers over alleged cyber-espionage, warning the move threatened relations between the world s two largest economies.
The indictment, "based on fabricated facts, grossly violates the basic norms governing international relations and jeopardises China-US cooperation and mutual trust," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement.
Beijing has asked that Washington "immediately correct its mistake and withdraw the indictment ," he said, noting:
"The US accusation against Chinese personnel is purely ungrounded and absurd."
The spokesman said China would also suspend the activities of a bilateral cyber working group due to a "lack of sincerity on the part of the US," and reiterated that Beijing itself was a victim of "severe US cyber theft."
In the first-ever prosecution of state actors over cyber-espionage, a US federal grand jury indicted the five on charges they broke into computers to benefit Chinese state-owned companies, leading to job losses in the United States in steel, solar and other industries.
Prosecutors said that the officers belonged to Unit 61398 of the People s Liberation Army. A report last year by security firm Mandiant said that the unit had thousands of workers operating out of a non-descript, 12-story building on the outskirts of Shanghai where they pilfer intellectual property and government secrets.
