Snowden spying claims rejected(2)

Great sensitivity

Su Hao, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, said both sides have realized the great sensitivity behind the incident.

"China is trying to make sure the big picture of the Sino-US relationship is not affected by the case," Su said.

Meanwhile, a British newspaper said on Sunday that Britain intercepted phone calls and monitored computers used by officials taking part in two high-level international finance meetings in London in 2009.

The Guardian said some delegates from countries in the Group of 20 - which comprises top economies around the world - used Internet cafes that had been set up by British intelligence agencies to read their e-mails.

The report was published hours before leaders of the G8 countries - all of which are in the G20 - start a two-day summit in Northern Ireland.

"During the summit, it will also be a tough job for US President Barack Obama to explain the PRISM spy plan to other leaders," Da said.

The Guardian said it had seen classified documents that detailed secret monitoring by British intelligence of officials at a G20 leaders' summit and a finance ministers' meeting in 2009 and suggested it had been sanctioned at a senior level by the government of former prime minister Gordon Brown.