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WASHINGTON, May 20 -- Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai on Tuesday accused the United States of hypocrisy for charging five Chinese nationals of alleged commercial espionage, citing Edward Snowden's revelations of U.S. spying operations worldwide.
Cui made the remarks in an exclusive interview with the U.S. TV network CNN, in response to the indictment announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Justice against five Chinese military officers for so-called hacking U.S. companies to steal trade secrets.
"It's really amazing to see that some people still believe they have moral high ground and credibility to accuse others, if we consider the Snowden revelations... It's a bit incredible," Cui told CNN's host Christiane Amanpour, referring to the revelations by former U.S. defense contractor Edward Snowden who exposed the U.S. worldwide spying operations on political leaders, institutions, companies and individuals.
Cui noted that China is in fact a victim of persistent and large-scale cyber attacks from the United States that target China's government institutions, schools, universities, companies and even individuals.
"And these originate from the United States. So we have always requested the United States to give us a clear and thorough clarification. But we still have none of it yet," the Chinese diplomat said.
"So I think it would be constructive and practical for the two governments to work together on these issues, to address these issues together -- not to exchange accusations like this," he said.
Cui rebuked the U.S. claim that it draws a distinction between spying for national security and for the advancement of domestic business, pressing Washington to explain why it targeted Chinese companies, universities and even individuals for cyber attacks.
"I don't know how they can make a distinction between such activities. How do they explain the attacks on Chinese companies, universities, and even individuals? Is that for national defense? Or is that for other purposes?" he said.
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