Trump accuses China of hacking Clinton’s email; Beijing denies it

China denied an accusation by US President Donald Trump that it hacked the emails of Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the 2016 election.

Without offering any evidence or further information, Trump tweeted earlier on Wednesday that China had hacked Clinton’s emails and demanded the FBI and Department of Justice to investigate.

“This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard this kind of accusation,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing.

“China is a staunch defender of cybersecurity. We firmly oppose and crack down on any form of internet attacks and the stealing of secrets. China advocates that the international community jointly respond to cybersecurity threats through dialogue and cooperation, on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.”

US intelligence agencies have accused Russia of involvement in the hacking of Democratic emails during the 2016 election campaign.

The Justice Department has indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers accused of hacking into Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic Party.

A Justice Department inspector general report on its investigation of Clinton’s email situation released in June made no mention of her email being hacked by Chinese agents.