"Any form of cyber-attacks is forbidden in China and the Chinese authorities are tackling all forms of hacking. As we can see, the militarization of the Internet threatens international security. We think that all members of the international community should respect each other, strengthen cooperation and dialogue to mutually fight against cyber threats," the spokeswoman said.
The reaction came immediately after Axios news outlet reported in the early hours of Monday citing documents it had obtained that security officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump are considering the possibility of creating a nationalized 5G mobile network within three years to guard the country against China’s threat.
The second option envisages that wireless providers will build their own 5G networks that compete with one another.
Such measures are needed to counter the technological dominance of China in the manufacture and operation of network infrastructure, the memo says. The document, designating Beijing as "the dominant malicious actor in the Information domain," argues that such actions would also contribute to protecting US economic and cyber security from China’s threats.
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Apart from countering China, the strong 5G network would allow secure development of new technologies such as self-driving cars and virtual reality, the document pointed out.
When unveiling the fresh US National Security Agency in December, Trump mentioned the deployment of a secure 5G Internet capability nationwide as one of its priorities.
