The U.S. and China have reached a preliminary agreement not to "conduct or knowingly support the cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information for commercial advantage," President Barack Obama said Friday in a joint media conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the White House Rose Garden.
"I raised, once again, our very serious concerns about growing cyberthreats to American companies and American citizens. I indicated that it has to stop," Obama said, reported CNBC. "The United States government does not engage in cyber economic espionage for commercial gain, and today I can announce that our two countries have reached a common understanding on a way forward."
Tensions between the U.S. and China have risen over the past year as many have suspected China of being behind a number of high-profile hacks on U.S. businesses and the government, including the Office of Personnel Management breach earlier this year, in which hackers stole more than 22 million personnel records, including more than 5 million fingerprint records. Beijing has adamantly denied being behind any digital offensives in either the government or corporate arena.
President Xi confirmed the agreement, saying, "The competent authorities of both countries have reached important consensus on joint fight against cyber crimes," according to AFP. "Both sides agreed to step up criminal investigation cooperation and information sharing and both governments would not engage in and not support online theft of intellectual property and we will explore the formulation of appropriate state behavior norms in cyber space."
The White House said in a statement that the U.S. and China will also create two new working groups composed of senior law enforcement and intelligence officials - one group to hold further discussions on cyber issues and a "high-level" group to focus on fighting cybercrime, reports NBC News.
But the agreement didn't go as far as some had hoped, with neither government committing to abstaining from state-to-state espionage, according to AFP.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, said he remains skeptical that China will uphold its end of the agreement.
"No nation has done more to advance its economic interests through the theft of the work product of others than China, at tremendous cost to American businesses and jobs," Schiff said in a statement, reported The Daily Dot. "I remain skeptical that China will deliver on this promise, and believe it will be necessary to impose a series of increasing consequences on Chinese businesses that continue to profit from the theft of American research and development. But if curbing cyber theft is a journey of a thousand miles, perhaps China has taken a first step."
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, chairman of the House Oversight Committee's information-technology subcommittee, said that "actions speak louder than words."
"We need to remain vigilant against possible attacks by the Chinese government and Congress needs to continue to do more to enable the fortification of our nation's digital infrastructure," said Hurd.
