New | Chinese media brands US a ‘mincing rascal’ over hacking charges

Chinese state media labelled the United States a "mincing rascal" and "high-level hooligan" on Wednesday in response to Washington charging five Chinese military officers with hacking US companies to steal trade secrets.

The indictment on Monday was the first criminal hacking charge the US has filed against specific foreign officials, and follows a rise in public criticism and private confrontation between the world’s two biggest economies over cyber espionage.

The US identified the hacking alleged victims as Alcoa World Alumina, Westinghouse, Allegheny Technologies, US Steel, United Steelworkers Union and SolarWorld. China denied the allegations.

As a first response to the charges China suspended a Sino-US working group on cyber issues. In an editorial, the Global Times, an influential tabloid run by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s Communist Party, said this was the "right move, but we should take further actions."

"We should encourage organizations and individuals whose rights have been infringed to stand up and sue Washington," the newspaper said. "Regarding the issue of network security, the US is such a mincing rascal that we must stop developing any illusions about it."

The Chinese-language version of the Global Times called the United States a "high-level hooligan".