In response to US National Security adviser Tom Donilon's Monday statement that China should take "serious steps" to stop cyber attacks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reiterated, on Tuesday, China's willingness to cooperate with the US in cybersecurity.

Repeating the assertion by China that the country firmly opposed cyber attacks, and that it is one of the countries which has suffered the most from cyber attacks, Hua said that China cracks down on such hackers in accordance with the law.

Noting that "rules and cooperation" are required in cyberspace rather than wars, Hua said: China is willing to have constructive dialogue and cooperation with the global community, including the United States."

Hua's statement came in response to Donilon's remarks which chiefly reflected the US' increasing concern over cyber intrusions as well as their economic costs. Donilon had said on Monday that US businesses were making public disclosures that cyber attacks were being launched from China "on a very large scale," to steal confidential business data and proprietary technologies.

Asking China to recognize the risk that these cyber attacks pose to international trade and to US-China relations, Donilon said that China should take "serious steps to investigate and put a stop to these activities."