In an unprecedented and potentially explosive move, the United States on Monday charged five Chinese military officials with cyber-espionage and economic theft that targetted US business firms.

The US Grand Jury named members of Unit 61398, the Shanghai-based cyberunit of the People's Liberation Army, as responsible for hacking into the networks of various American industrial companies including Westinghouse Electric and the United States Steel Corporation.

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The 56-page indictment against the hackers, who used the codenames "UglyGorilla" and "KandyGoo", included computer fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, identity theft and economic espionage - all brought before the Western District of Pennsylvania.

American intelligence agencies led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation had tracked the cyber activities of the Chinese military hackers through electronic means that had put them right inside the hacking headquarters of the Chinese military unit.

The companies targetted by the Chinese military hackers were U.S. Steel Corporation, aluminum manufacturer Alcoa, nuclear plant builder Westinghouse Electric, metal manufacturer Allegheny Technologies, and solar product maker SolarWorld.

The indictment ruled that the hackers stole trade secrets that would benefit Chinese companies.  Hacker Wen Xinyu, for instance, who came with the codename "WynXYhappy", was alleged to have breached SolarWorld's computers and stole thousands of files that detailed product and pricing information, which a Chinese competitor company can then use to improve its products and market share.

The US court did not name which Chinese companies stood to benefit from the cyber-espionage but open-source references indicate that these would be China's State Nuclear Power Technology, the Baosteel Group and Chinalco.

U.S. officials have consistently accused China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) and China-based hackers of spying on and attacking American industrial and military targets to steal secrets or intellectual property.

The criminally-charged Chinese military officials became "wanted" men as soon as the charges were announced. However,  It is uncertain how they will be arrested and brought to jail as there is no extradition treaty between China and the United States.

John Carlin, head of the DOJ's National Security Division, earlier this year said prosecution of state-sponsored cyber-threats as a key goal for the administration of President Barack Obama.

In September 2013, Obama discussed cybersecurity concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a summit in Russia. The White House said Obama told Xi the U.S. sees cybersecurity issues not through the prism of security but out of concern over theft of trade secrets.