China agreement on cybertheft a first step

Xi was also treated to a State Department lunch with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and others.

The agreement to clamp down on the theft of trade secrets falls short of addressing the Obama administration’s greater concerns about theft of national security information, such as the tens of millions of US federal personnel records that American lawmakers and some USA officials have said was engineered by Beijing. “I indicated that it has to stop”, Obama said in a Rose Garden press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping. As China’s economy has shown signs of slowing – with 2Q GDP contracting to 7 percent from the 2Q 2014 reading of 7.4 percent – President Xi likely appreciates the importance of strengthening relations with the world’s largest economy.

While the latter issues were discussed during Obama and Xi’s lengthy talks, no discernable progress was made.

Last year, Obama pledged $3 billion to the United Nation’s Green Climate Fund during a G20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia. Since then she’s emerged as a key force for Chinese “soft power”, ever present by her husband’s side during trips overseas, unlike previous first ladies who largely stayed in the background.

The two countries also committed to aligning their positions in negotiations on a broader global climate change treaty at a Paris conference in December.

An early morning welcome ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, complete with band music, a military review, and a 21-gun salute, preceded the private meetings involving the two presidents and their aides.

Still, the United States has a growing list of complaints on issues such as easing restrictions on U.S. businesses operating in China, currency policy, a maritime dispute in the South China Sea, and human rights.

China is also pledging to establish a new cap-and-trade system, starting in 2017, to essentially charge companies to pay for pollution.

“We’re doing this because this is the smart, effective way of getting things done with one of the most consequential countries for USA diplomacy and for promoting American national interests”, Dan Kritenbrink, senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council, told CBC News. The group included young Chinese studying in the US and members of Chinese-American associations.

In her speech at George Washington University on Monday, Rice raised issue with individuals unjustly detained, as well as the restrictions placed on freedom of expression and assembly that have sparked widespread protests in the country over the past year. He said: “While I don’t expect changes overnight, we’re on the path to an eventual resolution of this issue”.

Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, another fashion-savvy first lady, went with an embellished silk gown in rich aquamarine with beading on the bodice and skirt.

The White House’s concerns over China’s cyberattacks in the USA have caused particular strain ahead of Xi’s visit.

Leading up to Xi’s state visit, GOP presidential candidates have shifted focus to lambasting President Obama for what they are labeling as diplomatic capitulation by hosting Xi for the highly revered state visit.

China and the USA, in contrast, have a strained relationship with a number of irritants holding it back.

That’s what White House party planners have in mind for President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Friday night’s state dinner. He says that if the US and China work together, they have an “unmatched ability” to shape the course of this century.

Obama, in turn, said, “The United States will always speak out on behalf of fundamental truths”.

“The draft foreign NGO law that China is considering would be another step in the wrong direction, threatening the very organizations that have promoted China’s development and advanced the friendship between our peoples”, Rice said.

The White House says it skipped the firing of weapons when Francis arrived in deference to the pope’s humility.