Chinese president promises to work with U.S. to fight cybercrime

A much-watched visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping launched in Seattle with a promise from the government official to work with the United States on fighting cybercrime.

“China is a staunch defender of cybersecurity. It is also a victim of hacking. The Chinese government will not, in whatever form, engage in commercial thefts or encourage or support such attempts by anyone. Both commercial cyber theft and hacking against government networks are crimes that must be punished in accordance with law and relevant international treaties. The international community should, on the basis of mutual respect and mutual trust, work together to build a peaceful, secure, open, and cooperative cyberspace. China is ready to set up a high-level joint dialogue mechanism with United States on fighting cyber crimes,” stated President Xi Jinping, speaking to a group of business leaders.

“A conflict or confrontation between China and the U.S. would certainly be a disaster for both countries and the world,” the president added.

Accusations of cyber espionage and theft of trade secrets by hackers suspected to be working in league with the Chinese government has been a highlight of the U.S. government’s foreign policy efforts of late, with National Security Advisor Susan Rice commenting on the issue during a speech at George Washington University.

“In his meetings with President Xi, President Obama has repeatedly made plain that state-sponsored, cyber-enabled economic espionage must stop.  This isn’t a mild irritation.  It is an economic and national security concern to the United States,” Rice said. “It puts enormous strain on our bilateral relationship, and it is a critical factor in determining the future trajectory of U.S.-China ties.  Cyber-enabled espionage that targets personal and corporate information for the economic gain of businesses undermines our long-term economic cooperation, and it needs to stop.  So, we’ll continue to urge China to join us in promoting responsible norms of state behavior in cyberspace.”

Security researchers and the U.S. government have speculated that Chinese hackers were responsible for massive intrusions in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s databases, which resulted in the exposure the personal data of 21.5 million individuals. OPM this week announced that the breach involved much more sensitive data than previously thought.

“Of the 21.5 million individuals whose Social Security Numbers and other sensitive information were impacted by the breach, the subset of individuals whose fingerprints have been stolen has increased from a total of approximately 1.1 million to approximately 5.6 million,” said Sam Schumach, OPM press secretary.