China dismisses report that it bugged headquarters it built for African Union

According to an investigation, China had been transferring confidential data off building’s severs for five years

China has dismissed a French newspaper report charging Beijing with building the African Union (AU) a grand new headquarters building and filling it with covert listening devices and a secret “backdoor” to gain access to confidential information.

The 20-story building was completed in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa in 2012 at a cost of $200 million, fully funded and constructed by China as a symbol of its goodwill for the continent.

However, according to an investigation published in Le Monde on Friday, which quoted anonymous AU sources, in January 2017 technicians happened to notice a curious data spike that occurred nightly between midnight and 2am when the building was empty. Upon investigation, they discovered that data from computers inside the building was being copied and transferred to severs in Shanghai, according to the report.

After uncovering the hack, AU officials allegedly installed their own servers, refusing any help from the Chinese, and directed the building to be searched for bugs — turning up covert listening devices hidden in desks and walls.

On Monday, China’s ambassador to the AU, Kuang Weilin, said that the report “preposterous,” calling it part of an effort to upset ties forged between China and African nations.

“China-Africa relations have brought about benefits and a lot of opportunities. Africans are happy with it. Others are not,” Reuters quotes Kuang as saying.

When asked who these “others” are, Kuang replied: “People in the West. They are not used to it and they are simply not comfortable with this.”

Meanwhile, China’s official Xinhua news agency quotes Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desaleg as not-exactly-denying the report:

“There’s nothing to be spied (on) because (the) China-Africa relationship is very strategic, comprehensive,” Hailemariam said.

For many years, China has invested heavily in building up African infrastructure and helping to groom a new generation of African leaders. While China’s efforts on the continent have often been praised by government officials, they have also drawn scorn from many locals who see Beijing as engaged in a new form of colonialism on the continent and worry about the “hidden costs” of doing business with China.