US President Barack Obama will raise Washington’s concerns about cyberattacks allegedly carried out by China in an upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping, the White House says.

Spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday that the cybersecurity talks between the two countries will continue during the meeting next week.

“I can tell you there was a pretty candid exchange of views. We have been blunt in our assessment that it has significant consequences for national security and our economy,” Earnest said.

“I would anticipate that discussion will continue when the president has the opportunity to meet with his counterpart.”

US authorities, including National Security Advisor Susan Rice, have been holding talks with Chinese officials, namely high-ranking representative Meng Jianzhu over the matter.

It was not clear what action the United States was planning to take againt the alleged attacks, according to the White House press secretary.

“I don’t anticipate that we’ll have additional information about any actions that will be taken, if any action is taken,” Earnest said. “There's not a whole lot more details I can provide about the conversations.”

Washington has for years accused the Chinese government and military of conducting computer-based attacks against the US, including efforts to steal information from federal agencies.

It claims that the Chinese military has made cyber warfare capabilities a priority over a decade ago and often blames people linked to it for hacking into US companies’ computers to steal secrets.

Beijing says Washington’s cyber attack accusations are hypocritical, since intelligence leaks have revealed that the US itself is most active perpetrator of cyber espionage against foreign countries, especially against China.