US cyber sanctions against Chinese firms expected next week
Reports say the US is set to slap sanctions on a number of Chinese firms which are accused of the cyber theft of the US intellectual property.
According to the Financial Times, the sanctions are expected to be unveiled as early as next week, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's planned visit to the US later this month.
Asked about the timing of the sanctions, US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said Washington doesn’t want preview economic sanctions beforehand to avoid sending a warning message to "the potential targets."
"When it comes to economic sanctions, we don't preview any kind of sanctions beforehand for obvious reasons. We don't want to give a heads-up to those who may be potential targets of economic sanctions to begin to take steps to evade sanctions activity," he told reporters.
Ties between the US and China have already been tense over the allegations that Chinese hackers were behind a series of data breaches in the United States.
Earlier this week, Chinese Embassy Spokesman Zhu Haiquan said Beijing is opposed to any forms of cyber attacks.
“The Chinese government staunchly upholds cyber security, firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks in accordance with law,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, American officials say Washington is also considering a series of sanctions against Russian individuals for what it calls cyber attacks.
According to an unnamed US official, the sanctions will target foreign citizens and firms believed to be responsible for cyber attacks on commercial enterprises.
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