FM says Xi’s visit to bolster China-US trust, cooperation

“The president will speak directly and forcefully to President Xi during the upcoming visit about cyber issues”, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday.

“The President and Mrs Obama will host President Xi and Madame Peng Liyuan at an official state dinner on the evening of September 25”, he added. “45 years. And we have occasionally come up against problems”, he said.

But he warned: If China does not agree, the U.S.is prepared to defend its interests.

The idea of the USA leveling sanctions is still under consideration in the future, but it will not take place before Xi arrives on September 24, the Post said.

The White House confirmed the date of Xi’s state visit amid speculation the Chinese might scuttle the president’ trip to Washington amid tensions over cyber attacks.

China, which has more restrictions on foreign investment than the United States, is in talks with Washington to reduce the scope of so-called negative lists of sectors closed to the other side’s investors. The United States administration went a step further by indicting five Chinese military officers previous year for alleged cyber theft, and over the past two months it has threatened to launch cyberattacks on China.

In addition to Guo’s release, David Saperstein, the U.S. ambassador at large for religious freedom, was allowed to visit China in late August, although a Christian lawyer he had reportedly planned to meet was detained and is now facing spying charges.

The US has called on China to stop the island-building and allow for freedom of navigation in contested areas.

Chinese hackers have been accused of stealing corporate secrets from US businesses and for infiltrating the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which compromised sensitive information belonging to more than 22 million people.

To demonstrate they are moving ahead with that deal, senior US and Chinese climate officials are meeting this week in Los Angeles to discuss best practices for reducing carbon emissions.

The visit also comes at a time of concern about the global impact of an economic slowdown in China. If he can demonstrate unusual wisdom and vision in working with his American counterparts to turn the challenges facing U.S.-China relations into new opportunities, then there is hope that future cooperation can be sustained and confrontation avoided.