US, China Agree Not to Cyber-Attack Each Other

President Barack Obama offered Mr Xi Jinping a warm welcome at the White House on Thursday, greeting his Chinese counterpart with a “ni hao”, or Mandarin for “how are you?”, at the start of a tricky state visit.

“The question now is, are words followed by actions?” “Both governments will not be engaged in or knowingly support online theft of intellectual properties”, he said. The intelligence disclosures of former National Security Agency contractor, Edward Snowden, about widespread USA cyber operations overseas have also given China ammunition to counter the United States claims.

“I did indicate to President Xi that I would apply those and whatever tools we have in our tool kit to go after cybercriminals, either retrospectively or prospectively”, Obama said. Xi is essentially asking the U.S.to recognize China as an equal and not to meddle in its internal affairs, be they the expansion of its naval power or human rights issues.

Lawmakers who have worked especially on cyber issues also hailed the announcement but expressed skepticism about China’s credibility.

After three years of Xi as general secretary of the Communist Party of China and two-and-a-half years as president of China, Washington is no longer wooed or wowed by words.

Mr Obama said the U.S. would watch carefully to make an assessment on whether progress has been made.

White House officials said the investment treaty was a “top economic priority” for the two nations.

However, Obama also emphasized that the two leaders still have broad disagreement over how to stem the tide of Chinese cyberthefts, and over America’s potential cyber-response.

Xi said “China strongly opposes and combats the theft of commercial secrets and other kinds of hacking attacks”, which could be taken in two ways. The two men struck a serious, businesslike tone when they appeared later before reporters, showing little sign of close personal rapport. In recent months, Chinese officials have denied responsibility for commercial cyberattacks and called reports of Chinese theft of USA data “groundless speculation”.

He spoke with Xi at his side during a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden.

China and the USA are ready to strike a global carbon emissions trade deal to form a market for industries producing greenhouse gas emissions.

Last week, United Nations Climate Chief Christiana Figueres admitted that the goal of limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) will not be accomplished, based on various countries’ national pledges submitted ahead of the Paris talks.

WASHINGTON – The United States and China have agreed that neither country will conduct economic espionage in cyberspace in a deal that addresses a major source of tension in the bilateral relationship. Mr. Obama has faced calls from some Republican presidential candidates to scale back the grandeur of Xi’s visit, which included an Oval Office meeting, the joint news conference and a black-tie dinner.

As the two leaders spoke, dozens of pro- and anti-Xi protesters gathered near the White House grounds, waving flags, beating drums and shouting slogans.

The intercept follows a more risky maneuver past year when an armed Chinese fighter jet came within approximately 20 feet of a U.S. Navy P-8 aircraft, at one point rolling to its side to show the US plane its weapons load, Pentagon officials said at the time. Some analysts believe Obama has more leverage due to China’s slowing economic growth, which has destabilized global markets.

Obama also raised the issue of Chinese island-building in the South China Sea and urged Xi to act in accordance with global law.