KEY POINTS:
LONDON - China has rejected as "baseless" allegations that it was carrying out state-sponsored espionage against British businesses.
The Times newspaper reported last Saturday that the head of Britain's MI5 intelligence agency had sent a confidential letter to 300 chief executives and security chiefs at banks, accountants and legal firms warning them they could face electronic attack from "Chinese state organisations".
"Certain reports about the attempts by certain Chinese institutions, government agencies, to engage in espionage through hacking activity are totally baseless," said visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
"The Chinese government is firmly opposed to hacking attacks against websites. It is prohibited by the law," he told a news conference, speaking through an interpreter, after talks with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
The websites of a number of Chinese government agencies had been attacked by hackers, Yang said.
China has rejected similar allegations from other Western nations this year. It has been accused of cyber attacks on US and German government computers and a British security source said there had been frequent Chinese attempts to penetrate British government systems.
Miliband declined comment on The Times report.
Britain's Home Office also declined comment. "We don't comment on leaked private correspondence," a spokeswoman said.
- REUTERS
