China says willing to discuss cyber security with the US

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China offered on Tuesday to talk with the United States about cyber security amid an escalating war of words between the two sides on computer hacking, but suspicion is as deep in Beijing as it is in Washington about the accusations and counter-accusations.

The world's two leading economies have been squaring off for months over the issue of cyber attacks, each accusing the other of hacking into sensitive government and corporate websites.

A US computer security company said last month that a secretive Chinese military unit was likely behind a series of hacking attacks mostly targeting the United States.

On Monday, US National Security Advisor Tom Donilon called on China to acknowledge the scope of the problem and enter a dialogue with the United States on ways to establish acceptable behaviour.