Just days before negotiations are due to begin between Google and China about the Internet giant's fate in China, the dispute between the two sees no sign of ceasing.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told the first press briefing after the country's Lunar New Year that a US news report claiming two Chinese schools were involved in the Google cyber-attack was "groundless".

A report by the New York Times last week said that investigators traced hacking attacks on Google to Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School in Shandong province. The two establishments have denied their involvement.