China has accused the United States of "hypocrisy" and "double standards" following its decision to charge five Chinese army officers with cybertheft against major American businesses. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing even took the step of summoning U.S. Ambassador Max Baucus late Monday, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, as tensions between the two countries threatened to escalate into a full-scale diplomatic incident. Earlier Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the men, all members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), "maintained unauthorized access to victim computers to steal information from these entities that would be useful" to the victims' competitors in China.
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China Foreign Ministry spokesman calls on U.S. to withdraw charges
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Indictment alleges five People's Liberation Army officers hacked computers
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United Steel Workers Union, Westinghouse, Alcoa among victims, Eric Holder says
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China suspends participation in the joint China-U.S. Cyber Working Group
He was adamant that the @placeholder "intelligence programs serve a specific national security mission, and that does not include providing a competitive advantage to U.S. companies or U.S. economic interests," Carney said.