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July 11, 2014

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China, US exchange views on cyberhacking

UNITED States Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that the US and China had a frank exchange on the issue of cyberhacking as the two countries wrapped up their “Strategic and Economic Dialogue” in Beijing.

Kerry said the loss of intellectual property through hacking has had a “chilling effect on innovation and investment” and is hurting US companies.

China’s foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi described cybersecurity as a “common threat facing all countries” and an issue requiring mutual trust.

“Cyberspace should not become a tool for damaging the interests of other countries,” he said.

The issue was among many disputes and challenges discussed by the world’s two leading economic powers during the sixth annual talks.

China insists that it too is a victim of hacking and accuses Washington of hypocrisy since it conducts sweeping surveillance around the world.

Leaks by former government contractor Edward Snowden have alleged widespread US snooping in China.

Despite pleas from the US, China did not agree to resume a cybersecurity working group, which it suspended over US indictments of five senior Chinese military officials.

Yang said it was up to the United States to first create the proper conditions for renewed dialogue on the matter.

Kerry and Yang spoke at the conclusion of the two-day talks, aimed at fostering closer cooperation between the world’s two biggest economies. The two nations focused on trade and business concerns yesterday, with currencies and property rights topping the agenda.

“China and the United States represent the greatest economic alliance trading partnership in the history of humankind and it is only going to grow,” Kerry told bosses from top Chinese and US companies earlier.

From small beginnings of about US$2.5 billion in 1979 when formal diplomatic relations were established, annual trade between the two economic giants is now US$520 billion.

Direct foreign investment has also ballooned, and last year for the first time the amount of investment flowing from China surpassed that from the US.

“We want to do better,” the top US diplomat said.

But there have been a series of US-China trade disputes, while the United States has long insisted that the weak yuan gives China an unfair trade advantage.

The top executives of such firms as China State Construction Engineering Corp,  Wanxiang Group, General Electric and Boeing gathered for the meeting.

“Business is a backbone of the China-US economic relationship. Trade and investment between businesses not only brings goods and jobs, but also mutual understanding and friendship,” Yang said.

Kerry said cooperation between the two nations was also essential to deal with world problems such as Iran’s nuclear program, and conflicts in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria.

The two sides also discussed ways to advance a peaceful and denuclearized Korean Peninsula, he said.




 

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