China's Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang has summoned US Ambassador Max Baucus to protest the cyber-espionage charges filed against five Chinese army officials.

Zheng warned Baucus that China will "take further action" on the cyber-spying charges. He also denied their participation in the cyber-theft of trade secrets, according to a state media report cited by Reuters.

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Chinese officials have also implied that the baseless charges would damage the relations between China and the US. Los Angeles Times quoted China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang describing the charges as unfounded and "absurd."

China demanded that the US withdraw the indictment released on Monday. The Asian country also announced the suspension of the China-US Cyber Working Group activities, which were created started last year to address hacking charges.

On Monday, the US Justice Department filed criminal charges against five Chinese military members, alleging they hacked into US companies and stole trade secrets. The indictment marked the first time that such a case has been filed against foreign government officials.

According to Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., the hacked entities include US Steel Corp, Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies, United Steel Workers Union, Westinghouse, and the US subsidiaries of German firm SolarWorld. Holder explained that the five Chinese army officers stole trade secrets and sensitive information that allowed Chinese companies to gain traction over its US competitors.

The indictment seemed to only serve as a message to China, which has challenged the US to show proof of the espionage charges against the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The indicted officers were identified as Wang Dong, Sun Kailang, Huang Zhenyu, Gu Chunhui, and Wen Xinyu. These officers were part of the Unit 61398 from the Third Department of the PLA.

The latest charges are expected to increase the tensions between the two countries, who have each accused the other of cyber-espionage. China has accused the US of hacking into their phone and Internet firms, but Holder explained that their surveillance is designed to maintain national security only and not to help American firms gain advantage over their rivals.

Aside from cyber-espionage, the two nations have disagreed on other issues including trade disputes, human rights, and China's increasing assertiveness over contested waters with its nearest neighbors.

Beijing's furious reaction to the cyber-spying charges appears to be the first major test for Ambassador Baucus. He flew to Beijing in March in a determined bid to achieve balance between US interests and economic ties with China.

According to skeptics, the US would not be able to arrest the five indicted individuals because Beijing will most likely refuse to hand them over. The indictment, however, would keep them from traveling to the US and other nations with an existing extradition deal with the US.