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Sino-US talks will attempt to nail down detailed points of agreement on cybersecurity. Photo: Reuters

Chinese public security chief heads to US for talks on cybercrime

Ministers from both countries to flesh out deal reached in September

The first high-level dialogue between the United States and China on cybercrime is under way this week to flesh out a deal reached in September by the presidents of the two countries.

State media reported on Sunday that Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun would be in the US until Thursday. Guo would also co-chair a ministerial meeting with Jeh Johnson, Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, Xinhua said.

READ MORE: Xi and Obama agree on cybercrime cooperation meetings as threat of sanctions of alleged theft of trade secrets looms

State media reported on Sunday that Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun (right) would co-chair a ministerial meeting with Jeh Johnson (left), Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, Xinhua said. Photos: AFP, Xinhua
During President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US in September, the two countries agreed that they would launch biannual ministerial-level talks on cybersecurity by the end of this year. Talks on the subject had been suspended a year earlier after the US charged five Chinese military officers with hacking. US President Barack Obama said he and Xi agreed that neither government would knowingly support cybertheft of corporate secrets to support domestic businesses.
The agreement is very general and mutual trust is very fragile
Shi Yinhong, professor

Renmin University international relations professor Shi Yinhong said the talks would aim to nail down detailed points of agreement on cybersecurity but a breakthrough would be difficult to realise.

“[The two countries] agreed not to attack companies from the other country. But the agreement is very general and mutual trust is very fragile,” Shi said.

Just weeks after Xi’s trip, US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike released a report in which seven US companies claimed to have detected attacks from hackers associated with the Chinese government.

“Without further talks to make detailed rules, the agreement will be a hollow one. But it is difficult to make progress on cybersecurity, judging by the level of mutual trust at the moment,” Shi said.

He added that Sino-US relations had been further complicated by escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

READ MORE: Chinese hackers tried to breach security at seven US firms since Xi and Obama signed cyber deal, security company says

The ministries of state security and justice are also expected to take part in the talks, according to Shanghai-based news site Thepaper.cn.

The agreements on cybersecurity were seen as the biggest outcome of Xi’s US trip.

Xi said he and Obama 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 if cyberattacks continued.

Less than a week before Xi’s visit started, Obama said cyberattacks from China were “not acceptable”, adding that “there comes a point at which we consider this a core national security threat”.

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