The announcement on May 19 by the United States Department of Justice to indict five Chinese military officers is a farce and a hegemonic action that is only damaging China-US relations. The so-called 31-count charges against the five Chinese People’s Liberation Army officers of hacking into the computers of six U.S. corporations for stealing billions of dollars worth of industrial secrets are a fabricated story with no credible evidence. This disgusting unilateral move by the U.S. against China is harmful to Sino-U.S. relations and the international cooperation of cyber security and will prove counterproductive.
Wu Zurong
Firstly, U.S. credibility in China has suffered greatly. Using the surveillance and data-collection programs of the national security agency, the U.S. has long been stealing military and political intelligence as well as commercial secrets from China and almost all other countries in the world, as well as private information of its own citizens. Moreover, before Snowden’s revealing of NSA surveillance programs, U.S. officials had intentionally disclosed sensitive information to the media, accusing China of hacking into the U.S. computers to steal security and commercial secrets in order to stir up a new trouble between China and the U.S. as well as to gain the upper hand in the controversy by striking the first blow. However, for the sake of the Sino-U.S. relations and international cooperation on cyber security, China agreed to the U.S. suggestion about the establishment of a joint cyber-working group to discuss the issue. Now, just as the working group was becoming more effective, the U.S. unilaterally announced the indictment of 5 Chinese PLA officers, sabotaging the basis of the normal activities of the joint working group. The U.S. actions have shown that it is insincere and has turned back on its word; therefore, the U.S. should be held accountable for the suspension of the activities of the joint working group.
Secondly, the U.S. hegemonic actions can never be acceptable. The ridiculous indictment of 5 Chinese PLA officers is based on the charges under the U.S. domestic law. As the only hegemonic power in the world, the U.S. has always placed its domestic laws above international laws, norms of international relations, and the laws of other sovereign states. The U.S. cited, in accordance with its domestic judicial process, the articles of those domestic laws in dealing with its disputes with other states. It seems as if the U.S. is the supreme ruler of all other states in the world, and all other states and their business institutions and citizens must observe all U.S. domestic laws, otherwise they may be indicted, charged or sanctioned at any time and place for any unproved accusation. In terms of principles on the democratic world order, it may sound absurd, but it is the harsh reality today. Recent history has witnessed increased instances of the U.S. exercising hegemony when in disputes with other states. So, the U.S. indictment of Chinese army officers is just another case of the U.S. exercising hegemony in the new area of cyberspace.
Thirdly, the U.S. can never succeed in its scheme to cover up its cyber theft crimes by demonizing China. The U.S. is well aware that because the indictment of Chinese army officers violates the basic norms of international relations and principles guiding Sino-U.S. relations, China will certainly condemn it. The indictment will add another irritant in Sino-U.S. relations, pushing China further to the side of Russia during a period when U.S.–Russia relations are at an all time low over the Ukraine crisis. However, despite those unfavorable consequences to bear, the U.S. still expects that the indictment of Chinese army officers could shift world attention from U.S. cyber theft crimes on to China. When the U.S. is still stubbornly carrying out NSA surveillance programs all over the world, slandering China is a futile attempt to escape denunciation by other states.
The U.S. should rescind the indictment of Chinese army officers and refrain from exercising hegemony against China and other states when handling cases of disputes in cyber space. It is now very clear that by indicting the Chinese army officers, the U.S. can never achieve its wishful calculations, but instead will damage its relations with China over cyber security. By rescinding the indictment, the U.S. could manage to increase mutual political trust between China and the U.S. and to work together with China and other states to build a global internet system accepted by all states and all relevant parties. As the reach of the global internet has made all countries in the world form a community of common destiny in cyber space, all countries without exception are bound by intertwined interests and have high stakes in cyber security. The U.S., as the only superpower in the world, should respect the sovereignty of other countries and stop at once all NSA surveillance and data-collection operations, so as to become a contributor to the building of a fair global internet system. By applying Cold War mentality and zero-sum game logic to cyber space to advocate cyber rivalry or war among nations in the world, the U.S. would inevitably come to a dead end. Its voice in the building of the global internet system will gradually diminish for lack of popular support and its current advantages in information and communication technology will possibly be impaired in the long run because of the unbearable drain on its limited resources resulting from the protracted rivalry.
Wu Zurong is a research fellow at the China Foundation for International Studies.
