The United States' accusation of 12 Chinese nationals engaging in hacking activities is groundless, and China firmly opposes it, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday, urging the US to stop abusing sanctions.

The US is the world's largest "empire of hackers", and its accusation is hypocritical and exhibit double standards, Lin said at a regular news conference.

In December last year, China's cyberspace security institutions disclosed two cases of US intelligence institutions launching cyberattacks against Chinese high-tech companies.