Rift between China and the United States over territorial disputes in the South China Sea may deepen as the United States indicted six Chinese nationals Tuesday of economic espionage. The Chinese men allegedly stole trade secrets from Silicon Valley's Avago Technologies and Skyworks Solutions in Massachusetts.

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Due to the case, which had been announced by the Justice Department this week, tension between the two economic superpowers were put under the spotlight.

The case is being pursued under the Economic Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets Act, and according to experts, it is the latest case in which the United States, in this case U.S.-trained engineers, accused Chinese men of thieving proprietary information and claiming it as their own, reported San Jose Mercury News.

Three of the Chinese nationals accused of economic espionage came from the University of Southern California. They gained advanced degrees from the university. The other three were charged with stealing wireless technology.

Federal prosecutors said that after they graduated in 2006, the three Chinese nationals Hao Zhang, Wei Pang, and Huisui Zhang met at the institution and planned on stealing advanced technology from Skyworks Solutions Inc. and Avago Technologies, according to the Associated Press.

Both Skyworks and Avago supply chips for Apple's iPhones. They also manufacture other related products linked with communications.

Beijing opposes intellectual property theft, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. However, he made no comments on the effect of the case to U.S.-China relations.

China also claimed that National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's disclosures shows the United Statas as being the leader in spying, adding that it would hold involvement in a cybersecurity group between China and the United States.

Meanwhile, in social media, the economic espionage case of the six Chinese nationals has gained the public's divided opinions, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Tagseconomic espionage US china, economic espionage, US, chinese nationals theft, U.S., Avago Technologies, Skyworks Solutions, University of Southern California