HONG KONG — A Chinese state agency that threatened retaliation after the United States obtained indictments of five People’s Liberation Army officers on charges of cyberespionage announced plans on Thursday for tighter checks on Internet technology companies that do business in China.

The agency, the State Internet Information Office, said the Chinese government would establish new procedures to assess potential security problems with Internet technology and services used by sectors “related to national security and the public interest,” reported Xinhua, the state-run news agency.

The announcement came three days after United States prosecutors laid out charges against the five Chinese military officers, accusing them of stealing sensitive commercial information over the Internet to benefit Chinese state companies. The indictment drew harsh denunciations from the Chinese government.

The proposed vetting rules appear to have been under preparation for some time, but the timing of their unveiling is unlikely to be mere chance, said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China, which advises investors on the Chinese high-tech and Internet sectors.