China has expressed disapproval over a new sanctions program that the United States plans to impose on foreign individuals and entities which it believes are involved in cyberattacks, according to a report by technologynewschina.com.
Hua Chunying, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the remark in response to U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement that the U.S. has ordered on April 1, Wednesday, to freeze the assets of U.S. and foreign hackers and companies believed to be benefitting from cyberattacks.
"Cyber security concerns the common interests of all countries. The international community should jointly solve the issue of cyberattacks through dialogue and cooperation, and based on mutual respect and trust," Hua told the press during a briefing.
Hua reiterated China's stance on its commitment to fight cyberattacks in any form and opposed similar acts committed against China through online breach.
According to Obama's executive order, the increasing malicious cyberattacks from foreign sources targeting the U.S. poses an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to national security, economy and foreign policy of the country, the report said.
In response to the alleged threat, Obama declared a national emergency.
According to the report, the presidential order imposes sanctions against the suspected individuals and entities, which include blocking all their assets and preventing them from entering the United States.
The United States had earlier accused China of being responsible for online breaches in some U.S. companies, but China denied it as baseless.
China's Defense Ministry rebuffed U.S. claims on March 20 and denied involvement in the cyberattack.
On the other hand, China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center reported last year that 4,761 IP addresses in the U.S. have gained access and control to some 5,580 Chinese websites, using backdoor programs that enable hackers to gain access to a computer.