Senators urge Obama to put human rights on agenda at summit
Chinese experts Wednesday slammed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's accusation that Chinese and Russian hackers were probably reading his e-mails, saying that U.S. politicians have been scrambling to hype up thorny issues such as cyber security, human rights and trade conflicts before Chinese President Xi Jinping's U.S. visit in September.
Speaking on CBS Evening News Tuesday, Kerry said "very likely" in response to a question from anchor Scott Pelley about whether he thought China and Russia were reading his e-mails.
"The answer is it is very likely," Kerry said, according to an AFP report. "Unfortunately, we're living in a world where a number of countries, the Chinese and Russians included, have consistently been engaged in cyber attacks against American interests, against the American government."
Kerry also said that cyber attacks had been a topic of ongoing discussions with China and would be raised again when U.S. President Barack Obama hosts Xi in Washington next month.
"With no proof, Kerry's accusation is irresponsible and aimed at indicating that the Chinese government is responsible for cyber attacks in the U.S.," Shi Yinhong, director of the Center for American Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.
Shi added that China has been a victim of cyber attacks and has been pushing back against such attacks.
"The U.S. is always trying to paint itself as a cyber attack victim to cover up their repeated hacks on other countries," said Li Haidong, a professor with the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University.
The U.S. media recently reported that Chinese hackers have allegedly been snooping on the personal e-mail accounts of top U.S. officials since 2010. In one of the latest attacks, the media reported in June that the personal data of 4 million federal employees was stolen.
Shi believes that Washington is using these high-profile issues to put pressure on China before Xi's visit.
Eleven U.S. business groups are lobbying Obama to press Xi on technology protectionism concerns during Xi's U.S. visit, Reuters reported Wednesday. The lobbying specified China's "approach to defining its national security interests" as a key concern, citing a range of new and proposed laws that the U.S. groups said call into question China's commitments to open markets.
Moreover, 10 U.S. senators on Tuesday urged Obama to make human rights "a key and public component" of his talks with Xi.
"Some U.S. politicians want to highlight sensitive issues between the U.S. and China before Xi's visit. They hope to create an intense atmosphere and make the meeting less fruitful, which may benefit them in the upcoming U.S. president election in 2016," Li said.
