Chinese officials shocked their American counterparts during a secret meeting where they allegedly revealed Beijing was behind a series of cyberattacks against the US due to Washington’s support of Taiwan, according to a new report.
Officials from China and the former Biden administration met in secret last December in Geneva, Switzerland amid growing tensions over threats to Taiwan’s sovereignty — with Beijing dropping all pretenses and revealing that they played a role in hacking attacks on US ports, water utilities, airports, and other targets dating back years, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The extent of Beijing’s role was left ambiguous, but US officials interpreted it as a clear threat regarding America’s support of Taiwan as an independent nation, officials familiar with the meeting told the outlet.
The secret meeting was held with top officials from both nations and led by Nate Fick, the then-US ambassador-at-large for cyberspace and digital policy, along with Wang Lei, a top cyber official with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials said.
While China had previously blamed all claims of cyberattacks and espionage on rogue hackers, such as the Volt Typhoon group, Wang made it clear that the hacks were a direct result of the situation in Taiwan, which Beijing insists will be annexed in the coming years.
Wang’s comments came after the US warned China that attacks against critical civilian infrastructure could be viewed as an act of war, one former US official said.
Beijing’s comment was especially shocking given that the US team wanted to give China a chance to dispel doubts that it was involved with the hacking attacks, the official added.
Both the Biden White House and President Trump’s transition team were informed about the secret meeting and the details discussed, the WSJ reported.
Neither the State Department nor the National Security Council offered comment on the meeting.
The State Department stressed that it will “take actions in response to Chinese malicious cyber activity,” slamming the attacks as “some of the gravest and most persistent threats to U.S. national security.”
Beijing has yet to comment on the reports of the meeting, but its officials have previously accused the US of “using cybersecurity to smear and slander China.”
The secret Geneva meeting took place following revelations that hackers working with the Chinese Ministry of State Security spied on unencrypted calls and texts from top government officials, including those within the campaigns of Trump and Kamala Harris.
The hacking revelations come not only as Beijing ramps up military drills surrounding Taiwan, but also as Chinese-American relations hit an all-time low over Trump’s trade war.