China, US Reach 'Common Understanding' on Commercial Cybertheft
China and the U.S. reached a “common understanding” that neither nation will “conduct or knowingly support cybertheft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information for commercial advantage,” President Barack Obama said Friday during a news conference.…
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, in Washington for a state visit, told reporters that China and the U.S. will “step up crime cases, investigation assistance and information sharing” on cyber issues. China has been under fire for engaging in cyberespionage against the U.S. but has denied engaging in attacks like the recent Office of Personnel Management data breach. Obama said during the news conference that he has raised the U.S.'s “very serious concerns” about cyberespionage and “indicated that it has to stop.” China and the U.S. will “explore the formulation of appropriate state behavior norms of cyberspace,” Xi said. There’s "a difference between an agreement on paper and having the Chinese government, including the People’s Liberation Army, actually stop conducting and supporting cyber attacks on U.S. companies," said Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in a statement. Senate Intelligence "will be paying very close attention to how faithfully this agreement is implemented." The Information Technology Industry Council praised the China-U.S. agreement. The agreement “finally starts a sustained dialogue where there was very little communication," ITI President Dean Garfield said in a statement. "It illustrates a spirit of cooperation on a sensitive issue, which is a positive signal to technology companies.”