BBC News

US President Barack Obama continues to be “troubled” by alleged cyber-attacks originating in China on the internet search giant Google, officials say.

A White House spokesman said Mr Obama wanted “some answers” and agreed those responsible should “face consequences”.

The comments came after China denounced US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s criticism of its internet restrictions, saying it was harming relations.

Google has said it will decide shortly whether to end its China operations.

The company currently holds about one-third of the Chinese search market, far behind Chinese rival Baidu, which has more than 60%.

‘Consequences’

Earlier on Friday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the US should “respect the facts” and stop making “groundless accusations”.

ANALYSIS
Damian Grammaticas
By Damian Grammaticas, Beijing
For China, the row sparked by Google has put it in an extremely uncomfortable position. It is under the harsh glare of US scrutiny on several sensitive issues: internet censorship, the silencing of dissidents and human rights campaigners, cyber attacks launched from China, and the difficulties big US companies find doing business in China.

Hillary Clinton’s criticism of internet controls would have been pretty tough for Beijing to hear. So it is no surprise it has replied robustly. But China is on the back foot in this dispute.

The statement called on the US to “handle sensitive issues in an appropriate way”. Decoded, that means China would rather it was all dealt with quietly, something that does not seem likely now the argument has become so public and far-reaching.
Tech groups back Clinton stand
China’s media lashes out
Chinese debate internet freedom

“The US has criticised China’s policies to administer the internet, and insinuated that China restricts internet freedom,” Ma Zhaoxu said.

“This runs contrary to the facts and is harmful to China-US relations.”

The warning from Beijing came after Mrs Clinton said in a speech that the internet had been a “source of tremendous progress” in China, but that any country which restricted free access to information risked “walling themselves off from the progress of the next century”.

The private sector had a shared responsibility to safeguard freedom of expression and should take a “principled stand” against censorship, she said.

Mrs Clinton also called on the Chinese authorities to investigate Google’s complaint that hackers in China had tried to infiltrate its software coding and the e-mail accounts of human rights activists, in a “highly sophisticated” attack.

Hillary Clinton: “We look to the Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough review”

“Countries or individuals that engage in cyber-attacks should face consequences and international condemnation,” she added.

Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Friday, White House spokesman Bill Burton made it clear that President Obama agreed with her.

“As the president has said, he continues to be troubled by the cyber-security breach that Google attributes to China,” he said.     more …