Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday refuted the Five Eyes’ remarks hyping the “China espionage threat.” The so-called accusations are groundless, and full of slander and smears against China, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular press briefing on Monday.

“China doesn’t accept and firmly opposes it,” Mao said.

China attaches great importance to and is committed to protecting intellectual property rights, and safeguarding international security. The “Five Eyes Alliance” is the world’s biggest intelligence association, which is accustomed to fabricating and spreading false information about China, Mao said. The US, with its technological advantages, unscrupulously conducts eavesdropping and spying on a global scale without distinction, even not sparing their own allies, Mao noted.

The US is escalating its global campaign to hype the “China threat” in intellectual property and artificial intelligence (AI) development in a rare move of collusion with its allies under the Five Eyes to accuse China of intellectual property theft and using AI for hacking and spying against the nations.

It is hoped that the relevant countries will abandon their Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, viewing China in an objective and fair manner, and stop groundless smears and accusations against China, according to Mao.