Li Xiaoyu, 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 33, two Chinese nationals have been indicted for seeking to steal COVID-19 vaccine research and hacking hundreds of companies in the United States and abroad, including defense contractors, human rights activists in the United States, China, and Hong Kong, Assistant Attorney General John Demers said , the Assistant Attorney General John Demers of US Justice Department  said Tuesday.

The indictment comes amid rising tensions between the global superpowers fueled by the coronavirus pandemic which President Donald Trump blames on China. The Justice Department said Li and Dong, who were classmates at an electrical engineering college in Chengdu, have been engaged in a computer hacking campaign for the past 10 years, acted in some instances "for their own personal gain" and in others for the benefit of China's Ministry of State Security.

"China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran, and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals," Demers said. Targeted foreign companies were not identified by name. But according to the indictment they included a Dutch electronics firm, a Swedish gaming company, a Lithuanian gaming company, a German software engineering firm, a Belgian engineering software company, an Australian defense contractor, a South Korean shipbuilding firm, a Spanish electronics and defense firm, and a British artificial intelligence and cancer research company. Li and Dong allegedly stole information from defense contractors regarding military satellite programs, military wireless networks and communications systems, and microwave and laser systems.