China slams U.S. espionage against Chinese enterprises

BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce on Friday voiced "grave concerns" and "firm opposition" over a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official's remarks on taking Chinese enterprises as allegedly legitimate targets for espionage, urging an immediate cessation of such activities.

"The U.S. side's brazen claims that Chinese enterprises are legitimate targets for espionage have thoroughly ripped off the fig leaf behind which intelligence agencies covertly steal secrets, exposing the bandit logic of hegemony in broad daylight," a ministry spokesperson said.

China solemnly urges the U.S. side to immediately cease all espionage activities against China, including against Chinese enterprises, and to stop all actions that undermine China's sovereignty, security and development interests, said the spokesperson.

China possesses "the firm will and ample means" to resolutely take necessary measures in accordance with laws and regulations, such as the Counter-Espionage Law, to severely punish illegal and criminal acts and firmly safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, according to the spokesperson.

The comments came after CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis recently stated that the United States is engaging in a broader range of espionage against China including Chinese enterprises, claiming that Chinese firms in areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and biotechnology are legitimate targets of such activities.

The U.S. moves to overstretch the concept of national security, blur the boundaries between competition and security, and even frame economic competition as a so-called "threat" are essentially driven by the zero-sum, Cold War mentality, the spokesperson said.

"U.S. intelligence agencies' acts to interfere with normal economic competition severely damage the expectations of businesses worldwide and sabotage the global market environment for fair competition," the spokesperson stated.

While the U.S. side has long accused its trading partners of harming its interests through intelligence theft, U.S. intelligence agencies have engaged in large-scale cyber espionage and intelligence theft around the world. Now, they flagrantly violate international trade rules and intellectual property protection norms by targeting economic competitors through espionage activities, the spokesperson noted, criticizing the U.S. side for applying double standards.

Refuting U.S. claims that China poses military and economic threats as "a bandit's rhetoric that inverts black and white" and "malicious slander," the spokesperson called the U.S. acts as suppression and smearing against China.

"China's technological breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and biotechnology are the fruits of the dedicated efforts of Chinese researchers and enterprises, by no means prey to be arbitrarily coveted by U.S. intelligence agencies," the spokesperson said.

Noting U.S. anxiety over China's technological progress, the spokesperson stated that espionage and hegemonic suppression cannot halt the innovative strides of Chinese enterprises, nor can they win genuine technological leadership.