Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. Photo: VCG

It is unacceptable that the US spies on its allies, and it's even worse that it spies on others around the world, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday, in response to questions about China's comment on the US being criticized for spying on leaders of its allies.

The US isglobally recognized as the world's largest perpetrator of espionage. It has diverse means to commit acts ofespionage including stealing data and manipulating applications on mobile phones usinganalog mobile base station signals, hacking cloud servers,spying through submarine cables, and installing surveillance equipmentin nearly 100 embassies and consulates overseas to spy on other countries, Wang said.

French President Emmanuel Macro declared on Monday that wiretapping "is not acceptable between allies," and asked the US to clarify recent claims about how itsNational Security Agency (NSA)spied on European leaders with help from theDanish foreign intelligence service between 2012 and 2014, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and officials from countries including Sweden and Norway also reportedly criticized the US over its espionage activities.

The media recently revealed that the US spied on its European allies, but this revelation is just the tip of the country's huge global espionage network, Wang said. The US owes the international community anexplanation, he said.

The US has long been unscrupulously carrying out large-scale and indiscriminate eavesdropping around the world by virtue of its technological advantages, said Wang. 

"Meanwhile, it unjustifiably suppressed lawfully operated enterprises in other countries on the grounds of so-called national security, which fully exposed the hypocrisy and hegemonic nature of the US," Wang noted. "Who is stealing the information? And who poses a threat?"

There is every reason to suspect that the US'so-called "Clean Network" program will be used as an attempt to cement its monopoly in the high-tech sector and open the door for its unimpeded espionage, Wang said. "Could the program be another espionage networkcontrolled by the US?"

The US must immediately stop its vicious practice of large-scale and indiscriminate eavesdropping, and stop suppressing foreign companies under the guise of national security, Wang remarked.

Global Times