WASHINGTON, May 29 (UPI) -- The issue of cybersecurity is on the minds of U.S. State Department officials ahead of President Obama's meeting with China's president, a spokesman said.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said Wednesday that bilateral measures were in place to address issues related to cybersecurity.
"China opposes all forms of cyberattacks," he was quoted by The Washington Post as saying. "China is also a victim of hacking."
The newspaper reported last weekend that designs for advanced U.S. weapons systems were targeted by Chinese hackers. The allegations follow a string of reports that suggest the Chinese military is behind high-level compromises of U.S. computer networks.
China denies the allegations.
State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Secretary of State John Kerry has plans to set up a cybersecurity working group with China.
"It's something we raise at every opportunity with our interlocutors in the Chinese government," he said. "We do so via the State Department as through diplomacy and we'll continue to raise these issues."
Obama is to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California in June. White House spokesman Jay Carney said cybersecurity would be at the top of the agenda.
