BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Saturday said "cyber space needs rules and cooperation, not war," while citing that China is vulnerable to cyber attacks and suffers such attacks most.

Yang made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

"The international community is closely interconnected on the Internet, therefore cyber space needs rules and cooperation, not war," the foreign minister said.

"We oppose to turn cyber space into another battlefield, or capitalize on virtual reality to interfere in other countries' internal affairs," Yang said.

"China always advocates a peaceful, secure, open and cooperative cyber space, supports relative international rules under the framework of the United Nations, and proposes concrete initiatives," Yang said.

"We hope any irresponsible rebuke or criticism (against China) would end," he said.