Chinese Official Claims Possession Of Evidence Pointing To US Hacking Targeting China, But Does Not Hold Washington Responsible

A top Chinese Internet security official on Tuesday told state media that he has extensive evidence that points to hacking from the U.S. targeting China, but he refrained from accusing the U.S. administration for such attacks.

"We have mountains of data, if we wanted to accuse the U.S., but it's not helpful in solving the problem," Huang Chengqing, director of the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China, or CNCERT, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The official calling for greater cooperation among the countries on cyber security said Washington should come forward to discuss the cyber threat issues with China, instead of using the news media to report cyber attack incidents.

"They advocated cases that they never let us know about," Huang told government-run English language China Daily on Wednesday.

"Some cases can be addressed if they had talked to us, why not let us know? It is not a constructive train of thought to solve problems," he added.

His comment comes a day after the White House reiterated its stance that it holds Beijing responsible for cyber security threats that emerge from Chinese soil. Concerned about the increasing frequency of cyber attacks from Chinese hackers, Washington has exerted pressure on China to take steps to curb hacking originating from the country.

Last week, the Washington Post reported that Chinese hackers had gained access to key information about the Pentagon’s confidential weapons program. Although the White House raised suspicions on China's role in cyber espionage, China dismissed the allegations and claimed itself a victim rather than a perpetrator of such attacks.

Cyber security is also expected to be top on the agenda when President Barack Obama meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, at an informal retreat in a resort in Southern California.

According to White House officials, Obama is expected to inform Xi that the U.S. holds China responsible for cyber attacks that target U.S. government entities and major corporations from Chinese territory.

"Governments are responsible for cyber attacks that take place from within their borders," a White House official told reporters, Reuters reported. "As a part of our interests in protecting U.S. businesses, we will raise with China any concerns we have about intrusions we believe emanate from China."

The summit, which will be the first meeting between Obama and Xi, after the latter assumed power in March, will be followed by a high-level U.S.-China cyber security panel meeting in July.