White House: Will judge China by actions, not words

The allegations that hackers associated with the Chinese govt have tried to hack at least 7 American companies in the past 3 weeks

The US would judge China by its actions and by their words, the White House said on Tuesday amid allegations that hackers associated with the Chinese government have tried to hack at least seven American companies in the past three weeks.

President Barack Obama has made clear that the US would "judge China not based on its words, not based on any verbal commitments, but based on its actions," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

"And so you can rest assured that the relevant agencies in the United States government are closely monitoring China's actions in this regard. This is obviously a priority, and it's something that the United States government follow closely," he said.

National security officials both at the White House and across the federal government are regularly in touch with the kind of private sector entities, he said.

"There have been national security professionals in the administration that have been in touch with this particular private sector company, and I would anticipate -- we'll soon receive a briefing on the details of their findings as well," he added.

Earnest said it only serves to highlight the priority of information sharing, and information sharing from private sector entities with the federal government is a critically important part of its cybersecurity strategy.

"This is one of the reasons that we continually try to impress upon Congress the importance of passing cybersecurity legislation that would enhance this kind of information- sharing," he said.

"China's activity in cyberspace is not just a source of concern on the part of the United States, but it's a source of concern from countries around the world, including our close allies on the other side of the Atlantic," Earnest said.