China-US cyber dialogue 'important' to advance bilateral ties

WASHINGTON - The White House on Wednesday lauded the first China-US ministerial dialogue on fighting cyber crimes as "an important step" that will strengthen the bilateral relations.

"The fact that the dialogue, however, is taking place is an important step," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a daily news briefing. "Being able to communicate clearly with our Chinese counterparts, whether they're national security officials or law enforcement officials, is important and can strengthen the relationship between our two countries and can advance goals that both of our countries share."

Earnest made the remarks while commenting on the first China-US High-level Joint Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues held in Washington D.C., the US capital, since Tuesday.

The two-day talks were co-chaired by China's State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun with US Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

The dialogue, as agreed at the summit held at the White House in September by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama, is aimed at removing one of the major obstacles to the development of the bilateral relations.

The US has repeatedly pointed a finger at the Chinese government for alleged sponsoring of cyber theft of US commercial secrets to help Chinese companies gain advantages in commercial competition. China has flatly rejected the charges, citing its policies and laws forbid any form of such activities.

For the sake of ensuring stable development of its ties with the US, however, China has agreed to start high-level talks with America to discuss cooperation in fighting cyber crimes to prevent the cyber security issue from further damaging the bilateral ties.

Earnest said that Obama and Xi once again discussed the cybersecurity issue during their meeting in Paris, France where they attended the UN Climate Change Conference two days ago.

"The issue of cybersecurity was raised in their conversations. This continues to be a top priority of ... President Obama in terms of our relationship with China," he said.

Earnest expressed the hope that those important conversations, can serve as "a forum for more and continued information sharing between our two countries on the cyber security issue."

On the China-US cooperation in dealing with the climate change, Earnest noted that the substantial commitments they made about cutting down carbon pollution have "catalyzed commitments from countries all around the world."

This represents what impact that the US and China can have when they are able to work together in pursuit of a shared goal, he added.

The spokesman reiterated that the US "welcomes a rising China, and a rising China that is committed to assuming the international responsibilities that come along with a growing economic power."