China Embassy Urges US to Stop Smearing Beijing in Cybersecurity Affairs

"China firmly opposes the US' smear attacks against China without any factual basis," he said. "China itself is a target of international cyberattacks, and consistently opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks."

"The US needs to stop using cyber security to smear and slander China, and stop spreading all kinds of disinformation about the so-called Chinese hacking threats," the spokesman added.

"We hope that relevant parties will adopt a professional and responsible attitude when characterizing cyber incidents, basing their conclusions on sufficient evidence rather than unfounded speculation and accusations," he stated.

The comments came after the New York Times reported on Monday that the US Treasury Department accused China-related hackers of breaching its electronic systems. According to the report, the Treasury said it was notified by BeyondTrust, its software service contractor, that a hacker had obtained a security key that allowed it to remotely gain access to certain agency workstations and documents on them.