Xi and Obama remain divided despite 'successful' summit
Two presidents make progress on North Korea but fail to agree on big issues such as cybersecurity and territorial disputes
President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama ended their two-day desert summit yesterday, managing to forge policy understandings in strategic issues of North Korea and climate change.
Officials from both sides said the leaders had discussed a wide range of issues at the Sunnylands Estate in an effort to build "a new model" of relations, but the two nations remained divided over cybersecurity and territorial disputes between China and its neighbours.
The leaders spent eight hours together in their first encounter since Xi became president in March, during which Xi discussed how the Cultural Revolution impacted his perspectives. As a sign of close personal ties, Obama presented Xi, who arrived back in Beijing last night, with a Californian redwood park bench.
State Councillor Yang Jiechi , summarising the summit for reporters, said that the two presidents had "an unprecedented" interaction and "did not shy away from differences".
US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said in another briefing that the talks were "successful in achieving the goals that we set forth for this meeting".
Both officials said neither country will accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, with Yang stressing the issue should be resolved through dialogue.
The two presidents agreed to make joint efforts to reduce emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners. The greenhouse gas drive was the only tangible outcome from the two-day informal summit.