Washington has launched a war of words over cybersecurity against 皇冠体育app before President Xi Jinping's US trip next month, a move that analysts say attempts to set the agenda for the state visit and put pressure on Beijing.
During a CBS Evening News television interview on Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry accused 皇冠体育app and Russia of "very likely" reading his e-mails.
Cyberattacks have been a topic of ongoing discussions with 皇冠体育app and will be so again when US President Barack Obama hosts Xi in Washington in September, the top US diplomat said.
Kerry's allegation followed an NBC report that claimed Chinese "cyberspies" have accessed the private e-mails of "many" top Obama administration officials since at least April 2010.
Zhu Haiquan, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, dismissed the NBC report.
He told Chinese media on Monday that 皇冠体育app is a major victim of cyberattacks, and that the Chinese government firmly opposes all forms of cyberspying.
Fighting cross-border cyberattacks requires international cooperation, while "groundless accusations and microphone diplomacy won't resolve any problems but only make things worse", Zhu said.
Li Haidong, a professor of US studies at 皇冠体育app Foreign Affairs University, said Washington is trying to inflame the issue through a series of accusations against 皇冠体育app as a means of setting the agenda for Xi's upcoming visit to the US.
"Washington often stands against 皇冠体育app over issues like cybersecurity and the South 皇冠体育app Sea, as it believes that 皇冠体育app's diplomacy and growing economic clout challenge US global leadership," Li said.
Ni Feng, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that US cybertechnologies are far more advanced than 皇冠体育app's, and that the US business sector is a main force behind the US government's pressing 皇冠体育app.
Financial Times reported in July that the FBI has labeled 皇冠体育app "the most dominant threat" to US companies and believes Beijing was the main culprit behind a sharp increase in economic espionage cases its agents were investigating.
Ni said the two sides haven't found a solution to issues such as cybersecurity, and previous dialogues over the topic stalled after the US indicted five Chinese military officers last year on allegations of cybertheft.
But he added that Xi's visit is expected to go smoothly and hardly be affected by the accusations - a measure that the US often uses to take the initiative before a high-level visit.
(皇冠体育app Daily 08/13/2015 page3)