China Defense Ministry Denies U.S. Hacking Charges

BEIJING--China's Defense Ministry denied involvement in cybertheft of commercial secrets and said the U.S.'s filing of criminal charges against five Chinese soldiers is likely to harm relations between the countries' militaries.

In its first response to the hacking charges filed by U.S. attorneys, the Defense Ministry issued a blanket denial on Tuesday, saying the "government and military had never taken part in any acts to steal commercial secrets via the Internet." Spokesman Geng Yansheng, in a statement on the ministry's website, said the U.S. accusations were misleading and done "with ulterior motives."

Also on Tuesday, China's official Xinhua news agency said the Foreign Ministry had summoned Max Baucus, the U.S. ambassador, to lodge "a solemn representation with the U.S. side" over the matter.

The indictment unsealed Monday in the U.S. accused five officers from a People's Liberation Army cyberwarfare unit of hacking into U.S. Steel Corp., Westinghouse Electric Co. and other specialty metals makers and a labor union to steal proprietary information. The indictment is the first time that the U.S. has brought criminal charges against people for state-sponsored cyberespionage and is likely to add to existing strains in relations with the U.S. over trade and currency issues and global hot spots.

The defense spokesman, Mr. Geng, said the U.S. accusations run counter to the commitment both sides have made to improve military ties and "severely damage trust between the two sides." He accused Washington of hypocrisy, citing disclosures by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and others of U.S. wiretapping and surveillance of foreign political leaders, companies and individuals.

"From the "WikiLeaks' to the "Snowden" affairs, the hypocrisy and double standard of the U.S. side on the issue of Internet security has been clear for a long time," said Mr. Geng.

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