Official says New York Times report is fake news and Trump should get a Chinese device<\/b>
\nBeijing has dismissed a US newspaper report alleging Chinese intelligence eavesdropped on Donald Trump\u2019s calls and suggested the US president should switch to a Chinese phone.
The New York Times cited anonymous officials who said China and Russia had listened in to Trump\u2019s frequent phone calls with friends and allies made on his iPhone, and used the information gleaned to shape interactions with the US.
When asked about the report at a regular news briefing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said: \u201cCertain people in the US are sparing no efforts to win the best screenplay award at the Oscars.\u201d
Hua offered three recommendations to the newspaper and the Trump administration . \u201cFirst, the New York Times should know if they publish this type of report it provides another piece of evidence of the New York Times making fake news,\u201d she said, using one of Trump\u2019s favourite phrases to disparage unflattering articles.
\u201cSecond, if they are worried about Apple phones being listened in on, they should swap them with Huawei phones,\u201d Hua said, referring to one of China\u2019s largest telecommunications firms, which has been largely blocked from the US market over national security concerns.
Lastly, Hua said, \u201cthey should stop using any modern communication equipment and cut off contact with the outside\u201d if they wanted to ensure absolute security.
Russia, too, dismissed the eavesdropping allegations. \u201cWe already treat these sort of stories with a certain humour,\u201d said the presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. \u201cWe regret this newspaper unthinkingly publishes information which most likely indicates a decline in journalistic standards.\u201d
The New York Times report provided few details on how China and Russia were allegedly monitoring Trump\u2019s communications, aside from noting that the calls were intercepted as they travelled through the US phone network.<\/p>\n