China says US paranoid. Also notes sky is blue.

The U.S. is increasingly proving to be concerned over China's superior economy and has resorted to calling them a threat. | Photo: AFP

When it comes to China, Washington is paranoid and it has proven this in many cases, the latest being the one the alleged espionage by six Chinese citizens that the U.S. government has charged with stealing technology often used in military secrets, China's Global Times said Thursday.

The statement follows Tuesday's charges against Chinese nationals for espionage, which were announced by the U.S. Justice Department.

“Beijing must respond in the face of U.S. espionage charges against six Chinese citizens,” Global Times said in an editorial.

Reuters reported that China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it was looking into the details of the case and that it was seriously concerned about the charges. But the Global Times urged for a stronger response.

"The crime of espionage is the charge most abused by America," the Global Times said. "At the same time, we hope the Chinese government and relevant agencies involved with ethnic Chinese spy cases can issue timely and necessary responses."

The news media outlet added, “These cases show that the U.S. is becoming paranoid about China's rise. However, repeated mistakes along these lines have still not caused American society's introspection, which has gravely compromised the U.S. human rights record."

The Global Times also accused the United States of entrapment against the Hao Zhang, 36, a professor at Tianjin University, as he was arrested Saturday in Los Angeles after he arrived on a flight from China. He was apparently invited to an international academic conference that they believe was made by the FBI.

The remaining five suspects are believed to still be in China.

Zhang was charged with stealing source code and other proprietary information from chipmakers Avago Technologies Ltd and Skyworks Solutions Inc.

The five other Chinese, who were associated with a company called ROFS Microsystems, established in Tianjin with secrets stolen from the U.S. companies, according to the Justice Department.

The Global Times also said that the U.S., which has a sophisticated legal system, has purposely turned a blind side to the fact that espionage is typically an activity carried out secretly, while in the case of the six Chinese, they resigned to their employments in the United States and publicly ran their own companies in China.

Global Times recognized that there actions could merit lawsuits for, in the worst of cases, violating intellectual property, but not espionage.

This is not the first time a Chinese source has called Washington paranoid.

Recently, Chinese news agency Xinhua said Washington was paranoid about China without reason, saying that the Asian country represents a “threat,” which seems to be common practice by the U.S. government to meddle in the sovereignty of other countries. “... the United States, with its unrivaled political clout and military prowess, is still paranoid about China, perhaps because the superpower suffers from an underlying sense of insecurity,” Xinhua said.

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