President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping exchange toasts during a state dinner at the White House on Sept. 25, 2015, in Washington, D.C. (Photo : Getty Images)
China and the United States are conducting a second round of talks to establish cooperation guidelines between the two nations in resolving cybercrimes and bridging their differences at the same time.
The second round of dialogue held in Beijing on Tuesday covers cybersecurity strategies, the establishment of a hotline, and an exchange of law enforcement tactics, the Xinhua News Agency cited the Ministry of Public Security on Monday.
According to an Associated Press report posted on ABC News, the series of talks between the two sides was launched by a discussion between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama in Sept. 2015.
Second Cybersecurity Talks
"We're here today to ensure implementation of agreements made by the two presidents, commitments that illustrate that we can work through areas of differences to reach areas of cooperation," U.S. ambassador to China Max Baucus told the press during the opening of the two-day dialogue in Beijing.
According to Baucus, the second dialogue on cybersecurity will tackle details of an agreement forged during Xi's visit to Washington last year.
The deal is viewed in the U.S. as a "diplomatic breakthrough," though there is no conclusive statement from the western country that indicates a decrease in hacks against companies in the nation.
On Tuesday, Baucus emphasized that cyber problems proved to be "an important element in [the Sino-U.S.] bilateral relationship."
"Each step that we take enables us to have greater trust. We're prepared to work hard with you to narrow our differences," he added.
Cybercrime in China and the U.S.
Meanwhile, Chinese IT expert Zhao Liang expressed his hopes that the dialogue would allow both governments to "clear the air" and cooperate in resolving cybercrimes.
"I hope through this high-level dialogue, the two nations will take fighting cybercrime as a starting point, exchange information on heated issues and problems, clear the air, and establish a cooperation mechanism, so as to help enhance Internet security," CCTV quoted him as saying.
Zhao said that China is one of the biggest victims of cybercrime all over the world and should build cooperation with other countries to resolve it.
Many other cybercrimes plague the world's two biggest economies, including online espionage involving anonymous hackers and pornography.
During the first round of talks, Xi and Obama agreed to share experiences with each other to improve their law enforcement strategies.
They also plan to establish a hotline that would connect the two countries for better cooperation, something the second leg of the discussions is expected to pursue.
