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China hits out at US coronavirus research hacking claims as tensions flare
- Foreign ministry spokesman describes allegations that Chinese were trying to steal vaccine data as ‘smears’
- Zhao Lijian also urges US to ‘focus on saving lives’ and not deflect blame
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Tensions escalated between China and the United States on Thursday, with Beijing hitting back at a reference to Covid-19 as the “plague from China” and Washington’s allegation that Chinese hackers were targeting coronavirus research.
The pandemic has strained an already rocky relationship between China and the US, with the two sides trading accusations over the origin of the virus that has killed nearly 300,000 people worldwide.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian described the latest US allegations as “smears” that would not help to combat the crisis. The FBI and a US cybersecurity agency on Wednesday said China-linked hackers were targeting US groups researching vaccines, treatments and testing to undermine America’s response to the pandemic.
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In a joint statement, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned US organisations researching the effects of the virus against “likely targeting and network compromise by the People’s Republic of China”.
“China’s efforts to target these sectors pose a significant threat to our nation’s response to Covid-19,” the statement said.
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