China has accused search engine company Google of provoking a new dispute between China and the US.
The Chinese Communist Party’s main newspaper, the People’s Daily, said in its foreign edition, "Google’s accusations against China are fictitious and have ulterior motives and sinister intentions."
It also threatened the company that its business could suffer if it continues to say that the Chinese government was targeting the emails of United States’ officials.
Google is "trying to provoke a new dispute between China and the US" and has become a "political tool", said the paper.
It said, "Google’s accusations aimed at China are spurious, have ulterior motives, and bear malign intentions."
The article said Google’s latest complaints of computer hacking traced to China were politically motivated.
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"Google should not become overly embroiled in international political struggle, playing the role of a tool for political contention," the paper added.
"For when the international winds shift direction, it may become sacrificed to politics and will be spurned by the marketplace," it said.
Last week, Google had said that email information of hundreds of its Gmail account holders, including US government officials, Chinese activists and journalists and others had been traced to China.
However, China has rejected such claims and has asked Google to produce proof.
"This is not the first slander from Google […] if the company has any evidence, why not settle the matter through the courts," the editorial said.
"Why does Google again and again try to discredit China and try to sway public opinion towards thinking there is a China threat?"
