A Treasury official informed Congress that a Chinese hacking operation breached the department’s network and stole unclassified documents.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held a virtual meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Jan. 6, a week after the Treasury Department revealed that Chinese hackers were behind a major cybersecurity breach of the federal agency.
During the meeting, Yellen conveyed her “serious concerns” over the “malicious cyber activity” conducted by Chinese state-sponsored hackers and its implications for the U.S.-China relationship, according to a summary of the exchanges released by the Treasury Department.
A Treasury official informed lawmakers in a letter last month that a Chinese hacking operation had stolen an undisclosed number of unclassified documents, calling it a “major incident.” According to the Treasury, the hackers gained remote access to the department’s network via a contractor, Beyond Trust, which the federal agency used for technical support.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill have called on the Treasury to provide details on that matter. On Jan. 6, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to Yellen requesting a briefing about the cyber breach, echoing a similar appeal on Dec. 31 from the incoming Republican chairs of the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee. The Treasury didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said earlier on Jan. 6 that there was “no indication that other federal agencies had been compromised by this breach.”
That incident is one of a series of cyber espionage activities operated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against the United States. It coincides with ongoing U.S. efforts to understand the damage caused by another CCP-related cyberattack, Salt Typhoon. In an update on Dec. 27, the White House confirmed that the Chinese hackers had compromised nine U.S. telecom providers, including AT&T and Verizon.
These intrusions into U.S. cyberspace come at a time when the Biden administration is working to improve high-level communications with China, aiming to manage the competitive relationships between the world’s two largest economies. These efforts include the establishment of multiple U.S.–China working groups focusing on a range of issues, from fentanyl to commercial matters.
Yellen’s department has been regularly engaged with senior Chinese officials on economic and financial issues, with the most recent meeting of the financial working group taking place last month in Nanjing, in eastern China.In addition to cybersecurity issues, Yellen and He reviewed the progress of the two working groups they launched in September 2023 and discussed the economic developments in both nations, the Treasury said.
Yellen reiterated her frustrations over China’s non-market policies and industrial overcapacity, saying these issues harm American workers and companies. The secretary cautioned that if left unaddressed, they would continue to strain the U.S.–China economic relationship, according to the Treasury.
Yellen also “underscored the significant consequences that companies, including those in China, would face if they provide material support for Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the Treasury said.
This conversation with He, China’s economic czar who is viewed as the trusted ally of CCP leader Xi Jinping, is likely to be Yellen’s last exchange with him as Treasury secretary before the incoming Trump administration takes office.
The Chinese account of the meeting, which didn’t mention Yellen’s concerns, stated that Beijing and Washington agreed to “manage differences and continue to stabilize China–U.S. economic relations during the transition period.”
President-elect Donald Trump, set to be sworn in on Jan. 20, has pledged to slap tariffs as high as 60 percent on Chinese imports during his campaigns. He recently threatened to introduce an additional 10 percent tariff on China-made products due to the CCP’s role in the fentanyl crisis and illegal immigration in the United States.
Reuters contributed to this report.