China is confident Caribbean countries know the truth of its intentions and rubbished an international report claiming of Beijing-fuelled espionage across the region’s mobile networks.

The Chinese Embassy in the Bahamas, responding to the December 15 article by the UK’s Guardian, called the report another attempt by rivals the United States to sow discord between the Asian superpower and its Caribbean ties.

“It is not surprising to see another story on China’s network spying fabricated by an American expert. It’s also another attempt of the US to sow discord between China and Caribbean countries,” the embassy argued.

The Embassy of China in the Bahamas, in its statement, contended that for several years, especially during the tenure of President Trump, America has been lobbying other countries with ‘carrot and stick’ to stop their normal cooperation with Chinese high-tech companies, including Huawei, under the pretext of national security.

Now, the US has gone as low as to target other Chinese telecommunication companies.

The Chinese, continuing, indicated that unlike the US, it firmly opposes and cracks down on cyberattacks of any form.

“China is a staunch defender of cybersecurity and firmly opposes and cracks down on cyberattacks of any form [under] law. There have been no such network security incidents as the Snowden incident and WikiLeaks, no such cyber-surveillance programmes as ‘Prism Gate’, ‘Formula Organization’ and ‘Echelon System’,” the Nassau-based embassy argued.

The embassy posited that the facts have proved Chinese companies have a very good record on network security.

“Take Huawei as an example. In the past 30 years, Huawei has built more than 1,500 networks in more than 170 countries and regions, partnering with 228 Fortune Global 500 companies and serving more than three billion people around the world… and no country has been able to come up with evidence to prove Huawei products have back doors,” the statement added.

The Chinese embassy went on to note that when American companies lose competitive edge, the US plays dirty and tends to mobilise state power to bully others.

“The real purpose is to crack down on non-American enterprises that have gained an edge over American ones, and to suppress the legitimate development rights of other countries, to safeguard the monopoly, self-interests, and scientific and technological hegemony of the US,” the embassy added.

The statement concluded that China and Caribbean countries have all along maintained friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation.

“We believe that after recognising the truth, most countries will take an objective and impartial stand and make independent judgments. We are confident that the cooperation of the two sides will stand the test of time,” the Embassy of China in the Bahamas wrote.

See related story below:

• China accused of using Caribbean mobile networks to spy on Americans