US seeks resumption of cybersecurity working group suspended by China over hacking charge

The U.S. next month will urge China to resume discussions on cybersecurity suspended after the U.S. charged five Chinese military officers with hacking into U.S. companies to steal trade secrets.

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel told The Associated Press on Thursday that the U.S. would push for a resumption of the cyber working group when officials meet at the annual U.S.-China Security and Economic Dialogue in Beijing in July.

After the indictments against the five officers were unsealed in May, Beijing pulled the plug on the group, which had been set up a year ago in what Washington viewed as a diplomatic coup.

U.S.-China ties have come under growing strain, also because of China's assertive actions in the disputed South and East China seas.