President Obama Pressures China President Xi Jinping on Cybersecurity

President Barack Obama said he and China President Xi Jinping have a “candid” dialogue about controversial issues like cybersecurity -- one that Washington will continue during the week of Nov 30 to shore up China's agreement not to hack US private sector networks for profit. The two leaders gave press statements on the sidelines of the climate conference in Paris, during which they reasserted their goals of international cooperation on issues like curbing air pollution, but President Obama said cybersecurity is one of the “differences between our countries,” according to the White House. “Our teams have found ways to work through these tensions in a constructive fashion,” President Obama said.

President Xi promised during a recent state visit to Washington that his nation will not conduct or knowingly support online theft from US business networks. President Obama welcomed the pledge but vowed to closely monitor steps that President Xi will comply, as his Administration has in recent years accused China’s companies of benefiting from billions of dollars’ worth of intellectual property stolen from the networks of US firms.