In a joint news conference Friday that dwelt at length on the new agreement, Obama said the US will trust but verify.
Advertisement
On Thursday, the White House said it was considering economic sanctions against Chinese individuals and entities claiming they have profited from hacks of U.S. networks. And we will be watching carefully to make an assessment as to whether progress has been made in this area. “This is progress, but I have to insist that our work is not yet done”. At the same time, both the US and China will respond to requests for information in a timely manner, as well as offer assistance when necessary regarding such cyber activities.
In an effort to show that China had been generous in the past, Mr Xi said that 600,000 Chinese aid workers had been deployed to 166 countries.
China strongly opposes and combats the theft of commercial secrets and other kinds of hacking attacks.
“It’s a big and complicated relationship, and so there are a lot of topics vying for attention”, acknowledged Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.
They do not interfere with each other’s internal affairs and they respect each other’s choices of development paths and social systems, added the Chinese president.
The pledge comes as China faces increasing criticism for not taking sufficient responsibility for reducing poverty. “We have the right to uphold our own territorial sovereignty and lawful and legitimate maritime rights and interests”, he was reported as saying by AFP.
“China’s “green dispatch” system will prioritize power generation from renewable resources, and establish guidelines to accept electricity first from the most efficient and lowest-polluting fossil fuel generators,” the presidents’ joint statement says.
The first official state visit to the United States by President Xi Jinpinghas been applauded as a great success, despite skepticism expressed by some before the trip. “And it sends a powerful signal that China will join other countries in the global fight against this worldwide threat, setting the table for an effective international climate agreement later this year in Paris”, Suh said. Sanctions are still a tool the administration plans to keep in its toolkit.
Xi spoke to dignitaries and invited guests from both countries at a White House welcoming ceremony.
But, analysts said, the agreement is significant.
“It has to stop”, Obama said at the news conference, leveling only an indirect charge of wrongdoing against the Chinese.
“The United Sates will always speak out on behalf of fundamental truths”.
“This is strong medicine”. “The old political excuses for inaction in Washington have become irrelevant”.
“What I have said to President Xi and what I say to the American people is the question…”
“We will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapon state”, Obama said.
The bank, which Xi reaffirmed would open soon, has widely been seen as a way for China to dilute the influence of the United States and Japan, the most prominent holdouts from the new lender.
Advertisement
Regarding the issue of Tibet, Obama said, “Even as we recognise Tibet as part of the People’s Republic of China, we continue to encourage Chinese authorities to preserve the religious and cultural identity of the Tibetan people, and to engage the Dalai Lama or his representatives”.
