Edward Snowden is seen on the screen during a live remote interview at CeBIT 2015, the world's top trade fair for information and communication technology, in Hanover, Germany, on March 18, 2015. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

The US, which has been conducting the world's widest espionage activities, accused China of hacking and spying without substantive investigations and evidence, which is political manipulation and a tactic trying to get itself out of the dilemma of its incompetent COVID-19 response, Chinese analysts said, after the US indicted two Chinese nationals for allegedly stealing US coronavirus data. 

"We demand that the US immediately stop smearing China on cyber security," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Wednesday's media briefing. 

The US has been carrying out the world's widest espionage activities, but it made groundless accusations against other countries for cyber attacks, which was like a thief crying "stop thief," Wang said.

Cyberspace should not become a new battlefield. Countries seeking so-called cyber hegemony through offensive cyber strategies will only shoot themselves in the foot, Wang said. 

Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, said in a tweet on Wednesday that such accusations constitute disrespect for Chinese scientists and their achievements, and could also undermine international cooperation on research and development. The world must strongly oppose and reject such groundless claims, Liu said. 

China's response came after the US Justice Department on Tuesday charged two Chinese men for allegedly stealing coronavirus research results and getting help from Chinese state agencies for other thefts. 

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday the so-called indictment was nothing more than a replay of old tricks, and was the most boring trick the US has played to divert public attention from its incompetent COVID-19 response.

Such tricks would only plunge Americans deeper in their plight, he said. 

Coronavirus cases in the US on Wednesday topped 3.9 million, Johns Hopkins University reported. 

The US has abused lawsuits against a bunch of Chinese firms and individuals in the past years to create political issues, but had conducted no actual investigation and almost never provided evidence to China, Lü said. "Thus, it's not difficult to understand US political manipulation on this issue," he said.

On one hand, the US resorted to unilateral long-arm jurisdiction to sue some Chinese institutions or companies that may not even exist, creating distrust between the two countries, but the US has also accepted many Chinese fugitives, and even used them for anti-China activities, which pose a serious threat to China's national security, Lü said