Obama, Xi vow cooperation on climate, cyber issues

David Jackson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Obama to Xi: Cyber attacks on Americans must stop In a joint press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Obama said he told Xi that cyber attacks on American citizens and businesses needed to stop and would not be tolerated.

WASHINGTON — President Obama and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping vowed Friday not to engage in economic cyber espionage, to cooperate more on climate change, and to work out disputes in the South China Sea region while indicating that differences remain in what has become a tense relationship between key global powers.

Obama said he told Xi about the "serious concerns" that U.S. officials and businesses have over cyberspying by China, and "I indicated that it has to stop." He said the two nations have reached "a common understanding" against certain cyber activities, but "I have to insist that our work is not yet done."

Said Obama: "The question now is, are words followed by actions?"

The president also raised the prospect of future sanctions on China, saying the U.S. would use "tools we have in our tool kit to go after cybercriminals, either retrospectively or prospectively."

The United States and China have also struck a renewed deal to battle climate change, and to open "new channels of communications" designed to avoid confrontations between American and Chinese surveillance flights over the South China Sea, Obama said.

"The United States welcomes the rise of a China that is peaceful, stable, prosperous and a responsible player in global affairs," the president said during Xi's state visit. "And I'm committed to expanding our cooperation even as we address disagreements candidly and constructively."

Xi, speaking with an interpreter, described his talks with Obama as "constructive and productive," designed to create a respectful relationship "without conflict, without confrontation." He also praised the planned cooperation on climate change.

Urging "dialogue" on the question of cybersecurity, Xi said that "confrontation and friction are the not the right choice for both sides." As for the South China Sea, Xi said China would respect lawful surveillance flights but would also protect "our own territorial sovereignty" and "legitimate maritime rights" as U.S. allies protest the apparent development of Chinese military bases in the region.

While the United States has accused China of serial cyber thefts, and protested its military build-up in the South China Sea, the two leaders trumpeted the updated agreement to work together on climate change.

Under the agreement, the two nations say they will develop a "common vision" ahead of a December conference in Paris designed to negotiate a global climate change agreement. Building on a deal signed in 2014, the United States and China say they will detail ways to achieve targets for pollution emission cuts and develop new sources of clean energy, as well as new ways to finance these projects.

China is also pledging to establish a new cap-and-trade system to restrict polluting emissions, starting in 2017.

Before the Xi visit, the United States had threatened economic sanctions against China over the cyber-theft claims. They include the theft of private business information and millions of personal records via a hack of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

China has denied the accusations, and accused the United States of spying on it.

Speaking with reporters after his meetings, Obama said that — when it comes to economic espionage — he and Xi "have agreed that neither the U.S. or the Chinese government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets."

The president said he also wants to see a cybersecurity agreement among nations so that they all "know what the rules are," are held accountable when they are broken, and will act in concert to go after "non-state actors" who engage in cyber espionage.

In a joint statement, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson "welcomed'' the commitment to cyber security. Lynch and Johnson said the U.S. and China would establish working groups to address investigative cooperation and attempt to ensure necessary cooperation.

"These commitments do not resolve all our challenges with China on cyber issues,'' the statement said. "However, they do represent a step forward in our efforts to address one of the sharpest areas of disagreement in the U.S.-China bilateral relationship.''

In his meetings with Xi, Obama echoed U.S. protests of artificial islands that China has built in the South China Sea and stocked with military equipment and air strips. U.S. allies, including Japan and South Korea, describe the emerging military bases as provocations.

In the wake of the military build-up, there have also been near-confrontations between America and Chinese surveillance planes patrolling the region.

Chinese economic problems that have infected U.S. markets were another subject of discussion among Obama, Xi, and their aides.

Obama said he and Xi also had "a frank discussion about human rights," and discussed new cultural exchanges. The latter includes what Obama called "One Million Strong," a U.S. initiative designed to encourage one million American students to learn Mandarin Chinese over the next five years.

Across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, supporters and opponents of China's communist government chanted competing messages as security officers looked on. The loud voices of protesters could be heard in the Rose Garden as Obama and Xi conducted their news conference.

Mira Rapp-Hooper, a senior fellow with the Asian Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, said a bright spot of the Obama-Xi talks is a new "code of conduct" for air-to-air encounters between American and Chinese forces. It supplements an existing code governing ship-to-ship encounters.

As for China's pledges on cyber activity, Rapp-Hooper said: "Whether those actually get implemented, obviously, remains to be seen."

Jamie Winterton, director of strategy with the Global Security Initiative at Arizona State University, said that Obama and Xi talked about working with other nations on new global rules for cybersecurity, potentially a major step. She also noted that the U.S. and Chinese leaders talked about understandings rather than specific agreements.

Obama spent a lot of time talking about cybersecurity, and relatively little time talking about issues in the South China Sea, Winterton pointed out. Xi did just the opposite.

"It tells me we're not really aligned on our priorities yet," she said.

The state visit had its softer side. As their husbands spoke at the White House, first lady Michelle Obama and Chinese counterpart Peng Liyuan visited Washington's National Zoo to meet with children and gaze at the pandas, gifts courtesy of China.

The first ladies also named the newest panda, born last month: Bei Bei. They revealed the name — in both English and Chinese — by unrolling scrolls tied by ribbons, with help of two school children.

An early morning welcome ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, complete with band music, a military review, and a 21-gun salute, preceded the private meetings involving the two presidents and their aides.

Later on Friday, the president and the first lady will hosted a black-tie state dinner for Xi and Peng Liyuan in the East Room of the White House.