China denies Trump's hacking accusation
Trump tweet follows report that China had access to Clinton emails when she was secretary of state
China has denied an accusation by U.S. President Donald Trump that it hacked the emails of Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the 2016 election.
"We are firmly opposed to all forms of cyberattacks and espionage," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing Wednesday. She said China is a staunch defender of cybersecurity.
Trump tweeted shortly after midnight that China had hacked Clinton's emails, without offering any evidence or further information, and suggested that the FBI and Department of Justice should investigate.
"Hillary Clinton's Emails, many of which are Classified Information, got hacked by China. Next move better be by the FBI & DOJ," he tweeted.
Trump's tweet seemed to have been influenced by a report published Tuesday on the The Daily Caller, the right-wing news site founded by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Report criticizes Trump target Strzok
U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Russia of involvement in the hacking of Democratic emails during the 2016 election campaign. The Justice Department has indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers accused of hacking into Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic Party.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russia's role in the election and "any links and/or co-ordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump."
The Daily Caller report accused FBI agent Peter Strzok of failing to act on tips about a Chinese company being linked to metadata gleaned from Clinton's homebrew server when she was secretary of state.
Strzok, who worked on the Mueller team in the initial days of the special counsel probe before being removed after critical text messages were unearthed, has been a frequent Trump target of criticism and was subsequently fired by the FBI.
Trump has frequently struggled with accepting findings that Russia meddled with the 2016 election, despite reports from the intelligence community and warnings that those efforts could be repeated as the November midterm elections near.
Trump's tweet also comes amid an ongoing trade war with China.
Hua also denied on Wednesday that China was building a military base in far-eastern Afghanistan after a report published by the South China Morning Post alleged that Beijing was constructing a counterterrorism-focused facility near its border but inside the war-torn Islamic republic.
The report said China's People Liberation Army could send hundreds of military personnel into Afghanistan after the base is completed.
With files from CBC News