The Chinese Embassy in Fiji noticed the ABC News saying “Chinese state-backed hackers attack Pacific Islands Forum”. This is purely a made-up story and has no basis at all. China regrets this and hereby makes the following clarifications.

China firmly opposes the practice of politicizing cybersecurity issues, accusing other countries without evidence, and wantonly associating cyberattacks with the government of any country.

China is a major victim of cyberattacks. We have been resolute in combating all kinds of malign cyber activities in accordance with law, and never encourage, support or condone cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity is a common challenge for all countries and the shared responsibility of all. Committed to the peaceful use of cyberspace, the Chinese government pursues constructive cooperation with the international community in protecting peace and security in cyberspace on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit. We believe that cyber sovereignty should be respected and cyber hegemony should be rejected, and work to jointly build a community with a shared future in cyberspace featuring peace, security, openness, cooperation and order. China has put forward the Global Initiative on Data Security. We reject the use of information and communications technology to jeopardise critical infrastructure or steal important data of other countries, or conduct activities that undermine their national security and public interests.

We urge the relevant media outlet to respect facts and abide by principles such as objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, avoid making a presumption of China's guilt without verifying the facts, and stop spreading disinformation that misleads public opinion and smears China.