The Justice Department harshly criticized the Chinese Communist Party for allegedly allowing cybercriminals to operate freely in China in announcing new charges against five Chinese nationals for a host of thefts targeting companies in the United States and worldwide.

“The Department of Justice has used every tool available to disrupt the illegal computer intrusions and cyberattacks by these Chinese citizens,” Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said Wednesday. “Ideally, I would be thanking Chinese law enforcement authorities for their cooperation in this matter, and the five Chinese hackers would now be in custody awaiting trial. … Regrettably, the Chinese Communist Party has chosen a different path of making China safe for cybercriminals so long as they attack computers outside China and steal intellectual property helpful to China.”