LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s relationship with China is strong enough to allow it to criticize the country for computer hacking and attempts to steal industrial secrets, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman told reporters on Thursday.

“We enjoy a strong and constructive relationship with China and that’s one which allows us to robustly address areas where we have differences, and this would be one example,” the spokesman said.

Earlier on Thursday, Britain said it was joining allies including the United States in holding China accountable for a global hacking campaign that targeted commercially confidential information.