Coronavirus: Washington accuses Beijing of trying to hack vaccine research

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US federal police issued an official warning on Wednesday, May 13. A gesture that aggravates the already intense tensions between Washington and Beijing over the pandemic.

Publicity

"  China's attempts to target the health and research sectors pose a serious threat to our country's response to Covid-19,  " said federal police and the cyber security agency in an official warning. .

The FBI says it is investigating hackers affiliated with Beijing, who are allegedly trying to steal research carried out on a vaccine, but also into treatments and tests for the disease.

It would be hackers, but also researchers and students who, according to the administration of Donald Trump, are activated to steal information from university institutes and public laboratories where they work. Police are calling on affected organizations to take steps to protect their computer systems, reports Washington correspondent Anne Corpet .

"Immoral to target China"

Chinese diplomacy had swept in advance this Monday, May 11, any suspicion of piracy, ensuring "to  fight  " any kind of cyber attack. "  We are at the forefront of global research into a vaccine and treatment for Covid-19 disease. It is immoral to target China with rumors and slander in the absence of evidence,  "said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The United States has long criticized the Asian giant for engaging in industrial espionage. The Americans have made the defense of their intellectual property a priority in the trade war between the two great powers.

Senate bill

Above all, these new charges come as Donald Trump accuses the Chinese government of not having told the truth about the pandemic. Senators from his Republican camp, very upset against Beijing, presented this Tuesday May 12 a bill that would give the president the power to impose sanctions on China if it does not transparently help to shed light on the origin of the disease.

Like Lindsay Graham, one of the signatories to the bill, these senators demand that they be able to visit the Wuhan P4 high-security laboratory , which they suspect is causing the pandemic. A requirement that echoes Mike Pompeo's statements last week. The US secretary of state said he had "  immense evidence  " that the Covid-19 had escaped from this site. He "  stammers incoherently and goes on with lies,  " retorted Chinese diplomacy.

► Read also: Despite threats from Trump, Washington and Beijing maintain their trade agreement

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• Coronavirus
• China
• United States
• Donald trump

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