China says not involved in cyber attacks on Google

BEIJING: China on Monday denied any state involvement in cyber attacks on Google and defended Internet censorship as necessary, as a row with Washington over the US firm's threat to leave the country rumbled on.

The statements from Beijing, carried in twin interviews on the state news agency Xinhua, came after the White House said US President Barack Obama was "troubled" by Google's claims that it had been attacked by China-based hackers.

The US Internet giant has threatened to abandon its Chinese search engine, and perhaps end all operations in the country over the cyber attacks. It has also said it is no longer willing to bow to Chinese government censors.

The "accusation that the Chinese government participated in (any) cyber attack, either in an explicit or inexplicit way, is groundless and aims to denigrate China," an unnamed spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told Xinhua.

"We are firmly opposed to that," the spokesman said.

"China's policy on Internet safety is transparent and consistent," he added, reiterating that the country was itself the "biggest victim" of hacking.

In a separate interview, an unidentified spokesperson for the State Council, or cabinet, said China's efforts to regulate the Internet were legitimate and should be free from "unjustifiable interferences".

That comment came after a speech on Internet freedom by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in which she lamented what she said was Beijing's increasing efforts to control what its 384 million web users can see.

China has full justification to regulate what it deems to be harmful Internet content, the cabinet spokesperson said, noting that such a policy had nothing to do with claims of "restrictions on Internet freedom".