US just passing the buck

More than unhelpful, it is unjustified for some officials in the United States to try and make China the bogeyman to try and deflect the anger and mistrust generated by the disclosures of its pervasive snooping, said a Xinhua opinion piece.

Last week, US Congressman Mike Rogers told members of the European Parliament in Brussels that if the European Union continued "muddling" the debate over the US' spying on European citizens and institutions, it might "help China spy on European and American companies".

He claimed that Chinese cyber espionage has already cost the US economy some $400 billion and called for forming a "united front against industrial espionage from China".