China says US claims of cyberattacks is fabricated

China on Tuesday said the US had "fabricated" allegations it carried out a massive Microsoft hack, countering that Washington was the "world champion" of cyberattacks while raging at American allies for signing up to a statement of condemnation.

The United States on Monday accused China of carrying out the March cyberattack on Microsoft Exchange, a top e-mail server for corporations around the world, and charged four Chinese nationals for working with the Ministry of State Security to try to "steal US trade secrets, technology and disease research."

The US coordinated its statement with allies – the European Union, Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and NATO.

China hit back, calling the allegations of a Beijing-supported cyberattack campaign "fabricated" and demanding Washington drop charges.

"The US has mustered its allies to carry out unreasonable criticisms against China on the issue of cybersecurity," foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said. "This move is fabricated out of nothing. It is purely a smear and suppression with political motives. China will never accept this.

"China firmly opposes and combats any form of cyberattacks, and will not encourage, support or condone any cyberattacks," he said.

Instead, Zhao accused the CIA of carrying out hacking attacks on China's aerospace research facilities, oil industry, Internet companies and government agencies over an 11-year period. Those attacks "severely compromised" national and economic security, he said.