Beijing:
Internet users in China were unable to access the WikiLeaks website on Tuesday after hundreds of thousands of secret US diplomatic cables were published on the whistle-blower website, some involving Beijing.
Attempts to open the website in Beijing and Shanghai were met with a message saying the page could not be displayed. The site could however be viewed using a proxy server that bypasses the nation's huge censorship system.
Dubbed the Great Firewall of China, this system aggressively blocks sites or snuffs out Internet content and commentary on topics considered sensitive, such as China's human rights record and criticisms of the government.
The leaked documents contain allegations that China may have turned a blind eye to illicit North Korean missile parts exports and that the top Chinese leadership was behind cyberattacks on web search giant Google and US targets.
China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei today urged the United States to act on the issue, but refused to comment on individual leaks involving Beijing.
"We hope the US side will properly handle relevant issues," he said when asked about the leaks.
"We don't want to see any disturbance to China-US relations," he added during a regular press briefing.
In one cable, Chinese officials are quoted as calling the erratic North Korean regime - China's close ally - a spoiled child and saying Beijing would be willing to accept a reunited Korea.
Top US diplomat Hillary Clinton had yesterday accused WikiLeaks of an "attack" on the world as key American allies were left red-faced by the embarrassing revelations in the vast trove of leaked memos.
Other countries have since followed suit, with Japan describing the leaks as "criminal" and saying governments alone have the right to decide on the release of sensitive documents.