14 DAY TRIAL // Unnamed US officials have revealed for the Washington Free Beacon that back in 2011, Barack Obama rejected a series of actions against China in response to the large number of cyber espionage campaigns initiated by the country.
For a period of three months, starting with August 2011, military and security officials working under the White House Interagency Policy Committee came up with a series of though actions against Beijing.
The actions included counter cyberattacks and economic sanctions, but the White House determined they might seriously impact US-China relations, so they were dropped.
White House representatives have declined to comment on the measures discussed in 2011. However, they’ve highlighted the fact that the US is constantly raising concerns about cyber threats.
The fact that the US is trying to maintain its diplomatic relationship with China is also clear from the latest strategy on trade secrets theft. The report mentions incidents in which Chinese actors have been involved, but China is not the only country that's been named.