Chinese ambassador to US rebuffs Washington's accusation

Chinese ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, has rejected Washington's accusations of China's cyber theft. The ambassador said it was hard to believe that the country responsible for a massive international surveillance program, as revealed by the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, would accuse others of cyber espionage. He made the remarks during an interview with CNN.

"It's really amazing to see that some people still believe they have the moral high grounds and credibility to accuse others if we consider the Snowden revelation, so on and so forth. And people still can do that. It's a bit incredible. China is a victim to such cyber attacks. There has been persistent and large-scale attack on China's Internet and China's government institutions, schools, universities, companies, and even individuals. And these attacks originated from the United States. So we have always requested the United States to give us a clear and thorough clarification. But we still have none of it yet." Cui said.

On Monday, China decided to suspend its activities in the China-US Cyber Working Group, after the US announced an indictment against five Chinese military officers on allegations of cyber theft. The Chinese ambassador also said the US's decision hurt the foundation for bilateral cooperation. He stressed that China is committed to building new-type of relationship between the two major powers. But he stressed, it will require efforts from both sides to keep ties on track.