The Chinese government has denied any involvement in the recent Gmail phishing attack that Google says originated in China.
Google hasn't openly accused the Chinese government of being involved in these hacking attacks; instead, it merely pointed out that the attacks originated from Jinan, China, and mentioned that some of them were pointed at Chinese political activists.
Still, even the implication hit the wrong note with Chinese authorities. "Allegations that the Chinese government supports hacking activities are completely unfounded and made with ulterior motives," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters Thursday.
Chinese news agency Xinhua took it a step further, openly blasting Google for failing to provide proof that the recent attacks originated from China. "Just as its previous accusations, the world's largest Internet search engine provided no solid proof to support its statement," claims Xinhua.
The incident will further degrade Google's relations with China. They're already shaken since Google partially left China in early 2010 because of censorship concerns and an attack on Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.