World Bulletin / News Desk 

Comments by the United States linking China to hacking attacks are irresponsible, China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday, after U.S. officials said they were investigating whether China-based hackers compromised government employee data.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks at a daily news briefing.

The breach at the Office of Personnel Management is the latest in a string of intrusions into U.S. agencies' high-tech systems, and appears to be one of the largest ever hacks of information on government workers.

Chinese Embassy says accusations over U.S. data breach 'not responsible'

The Chinese Embassy in Washington, responding to reports that China was behind a massive cyberattack on U.S. government computers, said on Thursday that jumping to conclusions was "not responsible, and counterproductive."

Embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan said China had made great efforts to combat cyberattacks and that tracking such events conducted across borders was difficult.

"Jumping to conclusions and making hypothetical accusation is not responsible, and counterproductive," Zhu said in emailed comments to Reuters.