Wyden noted that China, unlike the US, did not distinguish between economic and political espionage, adding, “I had some pretty heated discussions with Chinese officials about this”.
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All of the American CEOs participating in the forum signed a letter to Xi and U.S. President Barack Obama urging them to support an agreement, and they heard encouraging words from Xi on the topic Wednesday. “It has to stop”, Obama declared.
In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Lew said questions remain about the business climate in China because of Beijing’s restrictions on the purchase of foreign technology and its review process for foreign investment. “We will apply those and whatever other tools we have in our tool kit to go after cyber criminals”, he said.
“We have agreed that neither the USA or the Chinese government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information for commercial advantage”.
Climate activists in the USA tried and failed to push a cap-and-trade bill through Congress during Obama’s first years in office. Obama has declined to assign blame to China for that breach nor to sanction its government, amid concerns that retaliating for that breach might have led Xi to cancel the state visit.
The Chinese leader charmed his audience with quotes from Martin Luther King, recollections of former visits to Seattle and knowing references to popular U.S. culture, including the romance comedy “Sleepless in Seattle“.
Chinese President Xi Jinping first visited Tacoma, Washington, 22 years ago while striking a sister city relationship between the port city and Fuzhou, China, where Xi was a regional leader. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department are already working on carbon-pollution and mileage standards, but an official said the joint effort will “encourage greater emissions reductions earlier” and “send a signal to the global industry that our two countries are harmonizing those regulations”.
“That’s the foundation of how the USA and China are going to get along in the future, it’s the people-to-people”, said Bruns. But he promised respect for freedom of navigation and overflight.
Cyberattacks are a sensitive issue between the two nations.
“We have chosen not to make any official assertions about attribution at this point”, said a senior administration official, despite the widely held conviction that Beijing was responsible.
Xi countered that “countries have different historical processes and realities” and said nations “choose their own development independently”. In 2008, China surpassed the United States as the largest global emitter of carbon dioxide.
Asked to comment on the issue as the leaders of the Holy See and China are both now visiting the USA, Lin told local media that the two visits are “unrelated”.
A joint statement listed a series of measures taken to flesh out their pledge, made past year, to work to reduce emissions.
By contrast, hacking attacks on the USA, said to be directed by Beijing; China’s moves to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea; and human rights issues have been sore spots.
“I believe we can expand our cooperation in this area even as the United States will continue to use all of the tools at our disposal to protect United States companies, citizens and interests”, he said.
U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced Thursday that the White House will serve Maine lobster at the State Dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Among them, economic reforms, his anti-corruption campaign and cyber security will likely come up during his talks with President Obama.
The deal also seeks to improve cooperation between law enforcement in both countries on cyber investigations.
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China dispatched its top domestic security official to Washington to try to stave off sanctions ahead of the president’s arrival.
