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China seeks answers from US over alleged Huawei spying

The NSA reportedly hacked the Chinese telecommunications giant's servers to spy on company executives and government officials. Now, the Chinese government wants to know why.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
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Don Reisinger

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China isn't too pleased with the US over claims that it might have infiltrated Huawei's servers to spy on the country, according to a new report.

Speaking to reporters in China on Monday, Hong Lei, a China foreign ministry spokesman, said that his country has "lodged many complaints with the United States" about alleged eavesdropping and spying, and it's now demanding "a clear explanation" on the latest developments.

Reuters, which was in attendance at the press briefing, earlier reported on the comments.

The comments come after The New York Times and Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that the US hacked into Huawei servers at its headquarters in China to spy on the company and government officials. The news came from classified NSA documents provided to the publications by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

China and the US have been waging a surreptitious cyberwar for years. Both sides have railed against the other, saying that their servers are being illegally hacked. The US allegedly hacking servers in China, and that country's public outrage, is therefore no surprise.

Still, China wants answers. So far, the US has remained tight-lipped.