China rejects cyber espionage accusations from Paraguay and U.S.

China has strongly refuted allegations of cyber espionage leveled by the United States and Paraguay, accusing Washington of employing cybersecurity as a political pretext to tarnish Beijing's reputation. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, stated that the U.S. is leveraging cybersecurity concerns to target China and urged involved nations not to become "instruments of American geopolitics."

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The U.S. is using cybersecurity as an excuse to target and discredit China.

Lin Jian asserted that China opposes hacking activities and the dissemination of disinformation for political purposes. He urged countries to avoid becoming "accomplices of the U.S. government in spreading false information about alleged Chinese cyberattacks." This response comes after the U.S. and Paraguay jointly announced last Friday the detection of "multiple threat actors" linked to China infiltrating the South American nation's state cyber systems during a joint cybersecurity review.

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China opposes hacking activities, as well as the dissemination of disinformation for political purposes.

Pedro Martínez, director-general of cybersecurity at Paraguay's Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, confirmed that "after a period of monitoring," the threats were identified as consistent with the activities of groups operating for the Chinese government. China had previously expressed dissatisfaction through a statement from its consulate in São Paulo, deeming the conclusions drawn by the U.S. and Paraguay as "hasty."

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We urge the countries involved not to become instruments of American geopolitics or accomplices of the U.S. government in spreading false information about alleged Chinese cyberattacks.

This incident is linked to Paraguay's diplomatic ties with Taiwan. In late September 2024, during a similar joint review, Washington and Asunción identified the Flax Typhoon cyberespionage network, based in China, infiltrating Paraguayan government systems. At the time, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña connected this incident to the country's ongoing diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which Beijing considers an "inalienable part" of its territory. Paraguay is the sole South American nation and one of twelve countries globally maintaining official ties with Taiwan.

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After a period of monitoring, we concluded that the threats correspond to activities consistent with what groups operating for the Chinese government typically do.