BY JIM
FINKLE, JOSEPH MENN AND ARUNA VISWANATHA
Mon May 19,
2014 6:04pm EDT
(Reuters) -
The United States on Monday charged five Chinese military officers and accused
them of hacking into American nuclear, metal and solar companies to steal trade
secrets, ratcheting up tensions between the two world powers over cyber
espionage.
China
immediately denied the charges, saying in a strongly worded Foreign Ministry
statement the U.S. grand jury indictment was "made up" and would
damage trust between the two nations.
Officials
in Washington have argued for years that cyber espionage is a top national
security concern. The indictment was the first criminal hacking charge that the
United States has filed against specific foreign officials, and follows a
steady increase in public criticism and private confrontation, including at a
summit last year between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi
Jinping.