Chinese President Xi Jinping crowns US state visit with deal on cyberespionage
'Significant progress' as presidents highlight cooperation on commercial espionage, law enforcement and information exchange
The leaders of China and the United States yesterday pledged to curb commercial cyberespionage as President Xi Jinping concluded a state visit that analysts said had made incremental progress in bolstering recently strained relations.
In what was possibly the final summit between the pair in a two-way setting - US President Barack Obama leaves office in 2017 - China sought to emphasize cooperation amid concerns the next administration may take a tougher stance against it.
Speaking after the summit - and an elaborate welcoming ceremony at the White House - the leaders sought to highlight areas where the nations could work together, but recognised that many differences remained.
Chinese state media reported that Obama reiterated at the summit that the US would not interfere in Hong Kong and did not support "independence" for Taiwan, Tibet or Xinjiang .
Even on the thorniest issue - that of the South China Sea - there was some progress. While Xi reiterated China had the right to uphold its territorial sovereignty, he also said it did "not intend to pursue militarisation" of the artificial islands it had built there.
Chinese officials have made similar pledges before. Even so, coming from Xi, the remarks surprised some observers.
"That's curious to me, because I didn't expect that, and I wonder what in Xi Jinping's mind 'militarisation' means," said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
On cybersecurity, the governments said they would launch biannual ministerial-level talks by the end of this year. This would be a higher level of negotiation than talks suspended a year ago after the US charged five Chinese military officers with hacking.
Xi said he and Obama had reached "a lot of consensus" on cybersecurity while Obama said both countries would refrain from state-sponsored cybertheft of intellectual property.
Obama said they had "made significant progress" in areas such as information exchange and cooperation between law enforcement agencies.
But he also reminded Xi that sanctions could still be imposed on Chinese companies. "The question now is: Are words followed by actions?" Obama said.
Xi's weeklong US trip - he is spending his final days in New York, where he is addressing the UN - comes at a time of heightened tensions. Chinese scholars said the deals in the trip, while not as significant as those at a summit last year, showed Xi's desire for greater cooperation with the US.
"A more important message underscored by the list of deals reached is that the US and China are willing to resolve and manage their differences through negotiations," said Professor Sun Zhe, at Tsinghua University.
But US experts were sceptical.
Professor Robert Sutter, of George Washington University, said Xi was increasingly seen as "playing a double game, as duplicitous and untrustworthy".
Glaser said a widespread view the next US president would take a firmer stance on China had prompted Beijing to shift its focus. "Every Chinese I talked to said they are confident that for the remainder of the Obama administration there would be an emphasis on cooperation."
THE TOP FIVE ISSUES
Cybersecurity: launching a twice-yearly ministerial level dialogue by the end of the year,
Climate change: setting up a bilateral fund to help developing countries combat climate change
Military relations: expanded the Memoranda of Understanding on Confidence Building measures to include air-to-air safety and crisis communications.
Anti corruption: enhancing cooperation on criminal investigations, repatriation of fugitives and asset recovery issues.
Tourism: next year will be US-China Tourism year
