China responds to U.S. demand to talk about recent cyber attacks

China spoke up today after U.S. national security adviser Tom Donilon demanded China participate in discussions about the cyber attacks coming out of the country over the last few years. China says it is “willing” to come to the table.

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“China is willing, on the basis of the principles of mutual respect and mutual trust, to have constructive dialogue and cooperation on this issue with the international community including the United States to maintain the security, openness and peace of the Internet,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chuying, according to Reuters.

She went on to mention that China is also a victim of hacking — the same defense China took after security firm Mandiant released its now well-known report on Chinese hacking.

Yesterday, Donilon gave a speech in New York where he discussed cyber security, more specifically in the scope of recent Chinese hackings. He said that we need three things from China in order to settle the cyber threats coming out of the country: China has to acknowledge how dire the situation is, the government must take action to stop hackers, and those in power must have direct discussions to define “acceptable norms of behavior in cyberspace” (read: don’t-hack-me rules).

Donilon was careful not to name the Chinese government specifically as the aggressor behind these attacks, saying that because the two countries are so economically intertwined, it’s that much more important that cyber is discussed soon.

Chinese flag image via Shutterstock