'Positive' US-China summit stumbles over cyber security

 

Los Angeles

A weekend summit between the US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping has concluded in California, with one US official describing the talks as “unique, positive and constructive”.

Tom Donilon, the US National Security Adviser, said the leaders had broadly agreed on topics including the denuclearisation of North Korea, and tackling climate change. The matter of cyber security, however, remained a stumbling block for US-China relations.

The two-day “shirtsleeves” summit at the Sunnylands private estate in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs was billed as an opportunity for the leaders of the world’s two largest economies to build a personal rapport. It is the first time the men have met since Mr Xi took office in March.

As they strolled together in the 200-acre grounds in sweltering heat on Saturday, Mr Obama told reporters they had made “terrific” progress in their talks.

Observers noted that, unlike his reserved predecessor Hu Jintao, Mr Xi seemed at ease with the enforced informality of the event, at which neither leader nor their staff wore ties.

The Chinese were keen to portray the summit as a meeting of equals. For both sides, it was an opportunity to ease tensions as each expands its military and economic engagement in the Pacific.

At a press conference following the talks, Mr Donilon said the thorniest issue at hand was cyber security. In recent months China has been accused of digital thefts from a series of US businesses and government agencies.

In one instance Chinese hackers are thought to have accessed the confidential designs for more than two dozen US weapons systems.

On Saturday morning Mr Obama reportedly pressed his guest to rein in his country’s cyber espionage activities. According to Mr Donilon, the US President told Mr Xi that the alleged hacking was “inconsistent with the kind of relationship we want to have with China”. If it continued, he said, it would be “a very difficult problem in the economic relationship”.

The Chinese, however, said they too were victims of hacking. Last week The Guardian published details of a presidential directive in which Mr Obama allegedly ordered US intelligence officials to make a list of potential foreign targets for US cyber attacks.

Mr Xi’s senior foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi told reporters, “Cyber security should not become the cause of mutual suspicion; rather it should be a new bright spot in our co-operation.”

There was less debate over the two countries’ approach to China’s troublesome neighbour, North Korea, which the leaders discussed on Friday evening over a dinner of lobster tamales, porterhouse steak and cherry pie prepared by the celebrity chef Bobby Flay.

According to Mr Donilon: “They agreed that North Korea has to denuclearise, that neither country will accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and that we would work together to deepen co-operation and dialogue to achieve denuclearisation.”

The White House released a statement following the summit saying the US and China had agreed to co-operate for the first time to reduce the “production and consumption” of hydrofluorocarbons, a greenhouse gas found in refrigerators and other appliances, which is believed to contribute to climate change.

Start your day with The Independent, sign up for daily news emails
PROMOTED VIDEO
Have you tried new the Independent Digital Edition apps?
ebooks
ebooksA year of political gossip, levity and intrigue from the sharpest pen in Westminster
Latest stories from i100
Have you tried new the Independent Digital Edition apps?
Independent Dating
and  

By clicking 'Search' you
are agreeing to our
Terms of Use.

iJobs Job Widget
iJobs General

Selby Jennings: Quantitative Trading Strategist | Front Office

Not specified: Selby Jennings: Quantitative Trading Strategist | Front Office ...

The Jenrick Group: Project Engineer

£33000 - £35000 per annum + Pension and holidays: The Jenrick Group: Project E...

The Jenrick Group: Maintenance Technician

£35200 per annum + Pension and holidays: The Jenrick Group: Maintenance Engine...

The Jenrick Group: Quality Inspector

£27000 per annum + pension + holidays: The Jenrick Group: A Quality Technician...

Day In a Page

Revealed: How Margaret Thatcher nearly rearmed the UK with deadly chemical weapons

Margaret Thatcher secret papers

PM nearly rearmed Britain with chemical weapons
After the 'quenelle': Friends are turning on France's black, anti-Semitic comic

Dieudonne M'bala M'bala

Friends turn on France's black, anti-Semitic comedian
Coping with OCD: How Alpha-Stim is helping to beat the 'bully'

Coping with OCD

How Alpha-Stim is helping to beat the 'bully'
Empire: Are we ready for a black 'Dynasty'?

Are we ready for a black 'Dynasty'?

Lee Daniels wants his new series to emulate the 1980s soap
Kew Gardens scientists discover ingenious new 'gobstopper' fruit tree

Kew Gardens scientists discover ingenious new 'gobstopper' fruit tree

70 new species discovered this year by Kew Gardens experts
A timely reminder of the bloody anniversary we all forgot

A timely reminder of the bloody anniversary we all forgot

Who remembers that this week we enter the 150th anniversary year of the end of the American Civil War, asks Robert Fisk
Homeless Veterans appeal: Former soldiers pay their respects to a friend who also served

Homeless Veterans appeal

Former soldiers pay their respects to a friend who also served
Downfall of Dustin 'Screech' Diamond, the 'Saved By The Bell' star charged with bar stabbing

Scarred by the bell

The downfall of the TV star charged with bar stabbing
Why 2014 was a year of technological let-downs

Why 2014 was a year of technological let-downs

Security breaches and overhyped start-ups dominated a year in which very little changed (save the size of your phone)
Cuba's golf revolution: But will the revolutionary nation take 'bourgeois' game to its heart?

Will revolutionary Cuba take 'bourgeois' golf to its heart?

Fidel Castro ridiculed the game – but now investment in leisure resort projects is welcome
The Locked Room Mysteries: As a new collection of the genre’s best is published, its editor Otto Penzler explains the rules of engagement

The Locked Room Mysteries

As a new collection of the genre’s best is published, its editor explains the rules of engagement
Amy Adams on playing painter Margaret Keane in Tim Burton's Big Eyes

How I made myself Keane

Amy Adams hadn’t wanted to take the role of artist Margaret Keane, because she’d had enough of playing victims. But then she had a daughter, and saw the painter in a new light
Ed Richards: Parting view of Ofcom chief. . . we hate jokes on the disabled

Parting view of Ofcom chief... we hate jokes on the disabled

Bad language once got TV viewers irate, inciting calls to broadcasting switchboards. But now there is a worse offender, says retiring head of the media watchdog, Ed Richards
A look back at fashion in 2014: Wear in review

Wear in review

A look back at fashion in 2014
Ian Herbert: My 10 hopes for sport in 2015. Might just one of them happen?

Ian Herbert: My 10 hopes for sport in 2015

Might just one of them happen?