The US Department of Justice’s indictment of five Chinese hackers this week is unlikely to end in prosecution. The US and China have no extradition treaty and none of the accused is likely to give themselves up to an American court. In terms of diplomatic impact, however, Washington’s action marks a sharp escalation in the long-running tensions over Chinese cyber espionage.
By naming and shaming the alleged hackers – one of whom was presented on an FBI “most wanted” poster in military uniform – the US has put down a marker that it will no longer soft-pedal over China’s rampant commercial spying. The signal is well overdue. Western companies have long been the victims of Chinese intellectual property theft. Beijing must understand it can no longer steal proprietary information with impunity.
China’s response has been predictably angry. It may well issue tit-for-tat indictments of US corporate officials based in China or even senior members of the US intelligence agencies in Washington. These should be expected. But there can be little doubt it received fair notice of the US move.