Foreign Ministry calls cyberattack report baseless

Beijing on Friday refuted reports calling it the biggest sponsor of cyberattacks on the West, saying such baseless accusations are out of ulterior motives.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the remarks at a daily news briefing after Crowdstrike, one of the world's largest cybersecurity firms, said in a released report on Tuesday that China increased attacks on US companies to steal their research secrets in the first six months of this year.

It is out of ulterior motives for some companies and individuals from the United States to baselessly accuse China of cyberespionage, Lu said.

"We urge the US to stop hyping the so-called cybertheft issue to tarnish China and stop its words and deeds that harm China's interests and bilateral relations," he said.

China is one of the victims of cyberspying and cyberattacks as well as a firm defender of cybersecurity, Lu said, adding that China always opposes and fight against any form of espionage or attack activities.

The international community knows clearly which country has conducted long-term large-scale monitoring on foreign governments, enterprises and individuals and who is the world's largest cyberattacker, he said.