U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that China hacked Hillary Clinton's email server was another unserious and unwarranted accusation against China aimed at pressuring Beijing during a trade war and containing the country's rise, Chinese observers said Thursday.
Trump posted on Twitter early Wednesday that China hacked the emails of the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton without offering evidence. Trump's claim was later denied by the FBI, which said that it has not found any evidence, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
"Hillary Clinton's emails, many of which are Classified Information, got hacked by China. Next move better be by the FBI & DOJ or, after all of their other missteps," Trump tweeted, adding that "their credibility will be forever gone!"
Trump's tweet diplomacy was unofficial, unserious and did not conform to norms, said Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University's Institute of International Relations in Beijing.
"In normal practice, Trump should first consult the authorized department like the FBI for evidence, and diplomats should make an appointment with their Chinese counterparts to discuss the issue," Li said. China should not treat Trump's tweet seriously, he concluded.
Internet users on China's Twitter-like Weibo unanimously dismissed Trump's accusation and suggested he must be trying to pressure China and divert attention from Russia.
Chinese experts agreed that Trump faces strong domestic criticism for his dealings with Russia and was attempting to cater to domestic voices by forcing China to compromise in the ongoing trade war.
"Fundamentally, the U.S. wants to contain China in all aspects it could possibly think of," said Da Wei, director of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations' Institute of American Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times.
The U.S. has kept on raising issues like trade, cyber-theft, DPRK and the South China Sea, Da said, and that won't change anytime soon.
China and the U.S. "should maintain normal cooperation and establish a crisis control mechanism especially for the military," Da said.
This was not the first time China stood accused of such things, Hua Chunying, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a daily briefing on Wednesday in response to the accusation.
Cyber security is a global issue concerning the interests of all countries and must be protected by the international community, Hua said.
"China is a staunch champion of cyber security. It firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyber attacks and espionage activities," Hua said.
"China believes that the international community should jointly address threats to cyber security through dialogue and cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit."
