A Chinese military spokesperson on Wednesday condemned a recent U.S. assessment report for its irresponsible remarks on China, saying that smearing China cannot help remove the U.S. label as the empire of hacking.
Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks while responding to a media query concerning the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment released by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which claims that China is the biggest military and cyber threat for the U.S., and that the Chinese military likely will use large language models for information operations to generate deceptive content.
The United States often accuses others of actions it itself has taken or is currently engaged in, Zhang said, adding that it is not only the main source of cyber attacks against China but also a well-known global cyber threat.
"From the case of WikiLeaks to the incident of Edward Snowden, from the 'Stellar Wind' surveillance program to 'Operation Telescreen' (the Bvp47 backdoor program), the U.S. has been doing whatever it wants to do in cyberspace, resorting to every extreme measure for surveillance, espionage and attacks, leaving behind a disgraceful and shameful track record," Zhang charged.
"Smearing China can not help remove the U.S. label as the 'empire of hacking'. We require the U.S. side to stop acting like a thief crying 'stop thief', cease cyberattacks against other countries around the world, including China, and act responsibly to ensure a clear and secure cyberspace for all of humanity," said the spokesman.
Smearing China cannot help remove U.S. label as empire of hacking: defense spokesperson
