U.S. reaches economic cybersecurity agreement with China

The USA and China may emerge from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit with some progress made on cyber concerns.

“We have agreed that neither the United States nor the Chinese government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information for commercial advantage”, the U.S. president stated. Chinese officials traditionally have viewed that distinction as meaningless, saying that national security and economic security are inextricably linked.

“We should cooperate because cooperation will benefit both and confrontation will lead to losses on both sides”, Xi said through an interpreter at the press conference.

The move comes amid rising tension in the South and East China Seas over China’s territorial claims and after US officials this week accused a Chinese jet pilot of making a “dangerous” pass near a USA aircraft over the Yellow Sea.

In a reminder of potential flashpoints, the United State and China also finalized a confidence-building plan aimed at reducing the risk of aerial collisions between warplanes in areas such as the South China Sea, through adoption of common rules of behavior.

A White House release Friday said Obama and Xi “reaffirm their shared conviction that climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity and that their two countries have a critical role to play in addressing it”.

“I know that some in both countries and around the world question whether we can sustain the cooperation that we need and the world needs”, Obama said.

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

“This is the beginning of establishing trust, and that’s a good thing, but I think we’ll now have to see how it goes”, Danny Weitzner, director of the MIT Cybersecurity and Internet Policy Research Initiative, told the Herald. “At present, the exchange rate between renminbi and US dollars is moving toward stability”, Xi said.

Even the ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee noted “we can’t just believe what China says”.

“Relevant construction activities that China is undertaking in the Nansha Islands (also known as the Spratly Islands and claimed by the Philippines), do not target or impact any country, and China does not intend to pursue militarization”, Xi said, adding that disputes in this area should be settled peacefully. And we will be watching carefully to make an assessment as to whether progress has been made in this area.

Washington is a long-standing critic of Beijing’s autocratic record on issues of dissent, freedom of expression and conscience, but it is rare for a leader to so pointedly address the issue to another’s face.

“The United States and China commit to enact almost complete bans on ivory import and export, including significant and timely restrictions on the import of ivory as hunting trophies, and to take significant and timely steps to halt the domestic commercial trade of ivory”, the White House stated in a fact sheet released Friday .