The U.S. Department of Justice said on Tuesday a Chinese state-sponsored contract hacker was arrested last week in Italy at the request of Washington, but the arrested man claimed he is a victim of mistaken identity.

China accused the US of using long-arm jurisdiction to detain an alleged Chinese hacker in Italy, in a dispute that threatens to turn into another point of friction in bilateral ties.

A 33-year-old Chinese man from Shanghai has been arrested in Italy on allegations of industrial espionage connected to a US investigation into cyberattacks on Covid-19 research facilities, Reuters reported. The man, identified as Xu Zewei, was detained last week at Milan’s Malpensa airport after arriving in Italy.