China's new premier Li Keqiang on Sunday rejected US accusations of hacking, saying that Beijing did not support cyber spying after President Barack Obama stepped up rhetoric on the issue.

"China itself is a major victim of cyber attacks," Li told a news conference after China's parliament meeting. "China doesn't support cyber attacks. Indeed we oppose such activities.

"I think we should not make groundless accusations against each other and spend more time doing practical work that will contribute to cyber security," he said.

Last month, a report from US security firm Mandiant said a unit of China's People's Liberation Army had stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organisations, mostly based in the United States.

The document provided the most detailed public account so far linking cyber attacks to China and provoked vehement denials from China.

Obama weighed in on the issue last week, saying that cyber threats affecting US firms and infrastructure were increasing, and some were "state sponsored".

"We've made it very clear to China and some other state actors that, you know, we expect them to follow international norms and abide by international rules," he said in an interview with ABC News.

Li said that the China-US relationship, between the "biggest developing country and the biggest developed country", was vital and they should work to ensure their mutual interests outweighed their differences.

"Conflicts between big powers are not inevitable," he said, adding that visiting Washington officials had "told me candidly in our talks that they came for the US interests. I told them I work for Chinese interests."

Lew to press China on cybersecurity: official
Washington (AFP) March 15, 2013 - US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew will press Beijing on cybersecurity issues when he meets with China's new leadership next week, a senior US administration official said Friday.

Lew will discuss a wide range of issues with Chinese officials during his March 19-20 visit to China, including cybersecurity, Chinese economic reforms and the undervalued yuan, said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

Making his first international trip since taking office a few weeks ago, Lew will meet with China's new president, Xi Jinping, and other senior Chinese officials, as well as US business leaders.

Lew is expected to voice the concerns of the Obama administration that the Chinese government is sponsoring some cyberattacks against US corporations, infrastructure and government.

"I think you can expect Secretary Lew to discuss our growing concerns about cybersecurity when he meets with Chinese officials, highlighting this issue has become a growing challenge to our economic relationship," the official said.

"This is an issue of very high concern and importance to the president."

In a congratulatory phone call to Xi after his installation as president Thursday, President Barack Obama raised the importance of addressing cybersecurity threats which he said, diplomatically, represent "a shared challenge."

But the senior administration official suggested Lew would be taking a tougher stance, referring to blunt remarks by National Security Advisor Tom Donilon earlier in the week.

"Increasingly, US businesses are speaking out about their serious concerns about sophisticated, targeted theft of confidential business information... through cyber-intrusions emanating from China at a very large scale," Donilon said.

"Beijing should take serious steps to investigate and put a stop to these activities," he said.

China has called such charges "groundless".

Lew will also discuss the rebalancing of China's economy away from export dependence toward domestic consumption, a move that could benefit the US economy, which wants to export more to China.

Questioned about China's new economics team as the world's second-largest economy undergoes a once-in-a-decade leadership change, the official said it was too soon to cast judgment.

"We've seen in the plan that was recently put forth on income distribution and the statements that we've seen so far, Chinese leadership seems to be intently focused on strengthening the role of the consumer as a driver in growth in China," the official said.

Lew also will raise the thorny issue of China's undervalued yuan currency, which the US says keeps Chinese exports unfairly cheap.

Although the currency, officially known as the renminbi, has appreciated 16 percent against the dollar since Beijing unpegged it slightly in June 2010, "more progress is needed," the official said.