China rejects US accusation on Snowden

BEIJING - The United States' accusation against China on fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden's departure from Hong Kong is groundless and China will not accept it, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

"The accusation that the US side made against the Central Government of China fell short of proof. The Chinese side will absolutely not accept it," spokeswomen Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing.

"The US side's doubt about the lawful operation by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is totally unreasonable," she said.

Snowden, the target of a US arrest warrant, left Hong Kong on Sunday aboard a flight and landed in Moscow.

The White House earlier called it "a deliberate choice by the (Chinese) government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant," and that decision "unquestionably" has a negative impact on the US-China relationship.

Hua said China's stance has been clear and consistent that healthy and stable China-US relations are in the interests of the two countries and their people and also conducive to peace, stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world.

"We hope the US side will work with China to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, strengthen dialogue and cooperation, manage and control disputes and conflicts and advance bilateral relations constantly," she said.

Commenting cyber security issues, Hua said China opposes any form of cyber attacks and the use of double standard.

Cyberspace needs cooperation and international rules, Hua said. She expressed the hope that relevant parties observe the spirit of mutual respect and trust, actively carry out dialogue and cooperation, properly resolve the issue of online security and jointly safeguard peace, security, openness and cooperation in cyberspace.

Hua said online security is an important topic in the China-US dialogue, on which the two sides have actually maintain communication.

She said the US side is fully aware of the principle stance of the Chinese side.

China and the United States have recently decided to set up a network panel within the framework of bilateral strategic and security dialogue.

"I believe the two sides will continue to have extensive communication and dialogue within the framework," Hua said.