A huge slogan board stands in front of the US Capitol building during a protest against government surveillance in Washington DC, capital of the United Sates, on Oct 26, 2013. Photo:Xinhua

 
When a foreign media reporter declared that the recent balloon incident between the US and China showed that NATO must be vigilant against China, Russia, and other countries on different platforms to conduct surveillance activities against NATO allies, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin refuted that such remarks are pure malicious speculation and deliberate smear.

China urges NATO to stop making groundless accusations against China, stop creating imaginary enemies, stop expanding beyond its authority, and do more tangible things for international peace and stability, Wang stressed at Tuesday's routine press briefing. 

When it comes to state surveillance, we should point out that the US is the world's No. 1 surveillance state, Wang said. "The international community, including Europe, has experienced this."

According to Danish media outlets, the US National Security Agency used cooperate with Danish intelligence agencies to spy on politicians in neighboring countries, including Germany, Sweden, Norway and France, such as the then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Since the 1970s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been secretly controlling Swiss equipment company Crypto AG, encryption equipment suppliers, to carry out surveillance activities in a number of countries around the world, with the company having sold encryption equipment to more than 120 countries. 

In addition, a report by Qi An Pangu lab revealed that Equation, an elite hacking group affiliated with the NSA, has carried out more than ten years of telescreen operations and network attacks on 45 countries and regions around the world, including China, Russia, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. The industry covers telecommunications, universities, scientific research, economy and even military fields.

According to POLITICO, the US military has spent billions of dollars developing high-altitude surveillance blimps beginning in 1997. In 2022, the US military converted high-altitude balloons carrying reconnaissance equipment to track hypersonic strategic cruise missiles from China and Russia.

At the press briefing, Wang urged that people should pay more attention to this kind of information and see how many other "incidents" are hidden behind these US espionage activities.