Cybersecurity has been a major challenge to the development of an economic relationship between China and the US, according to a senior White House official.
National security adviser Tom Donilon has urged Beijing to take steps to stop cybercrimes and identify the scope of the problem.
"U.S. businesses are speaking out about their serious concerns about sophisticated, targeted theft of confidential business information and proprietary technologies through cyber intrusions emanating from China on an unprecedented scale," Donilon said.
"The international community cannot afford to tolerate such activity from any country."
The White House’s move follows recent reports of Chinese hacks on The New York Times and other leading newspapers, in addition to a high-profile research from a US security company linking widespread cyber-attacks on US businesses to a particular unit of the Chinese military in Shanghai.
China, however, denied the allegation and said it has been one of the biggest victims of cyber assaults.
In response to the increasing flood of criticism from the US, China has also been calling for more international rules and co-operation on cyber espionage issues.
China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chuying was cited by Reuters as saying that the country is willing, on the basis of the principles of mutual respect and mutual trust, to have constructive dialogue and cooperation on this issue with the international community including the US to maintain the security, openness and peace of the Internet.
"Internet security is a global issue," Chuying said.
"In fact, China is a marginalized group in this regard, and one of the biggest victims of hacking attacks."
China has also alleged the US had been the source of more than half of the hacking attacks on the country during the initial two months of 2013.
