CybersecurityU.S., China begin formal cybersecurity talks

U.S. and Chinese officials have begun a week of formal discussions on cybersecurity. A bi-lateral group held its first meeting Monday at the State Department with both civilians and military officials included in the talks.

The Washington Post reports that the U.S. government has become alarmed over Chinese theft of American intellectual property, including weapons designs.

The talks, which began one month after President Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in California to improve relations between the two countries, will firs focus on the economic aspects of cybersecurity. 

According to Obama, resolving previous issues between the two countries is significant to future ties between them.  U.S. businesses are also making sure their voices are heard.

“The U.S. in the cyber arena is trying to drawing a bright red line,” Brookings Institution scholar Kenneth Lieberthal, wrote in a commentary. “Effectively, the U.S. position is everyone conducts espionage; we don’t object to Chinese espionage, they should not object to ours. But, the U.S. does not do commercial espionage to benefit our own firms competitive position, the Chinese side does and we insist that they stop.”

According to administration officials, Monday’s talks included international law and rules in cyberspace. The officials also said that both sides made proposals to increase cooperation and transparency, but they would not give specific details on the proposals.

Yesterday, the two sides discussed maritime security, missile defense, and nuclear policies.

China’s ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, continued to reject U.S. claims of Chinese cyber hacking, telling state news agency Xinhua that the U.S. government has failed to show any hard evidence that proves cyberattacks on U.S. organizations were done by the Chinese.