http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-wants-no-hacking-pledge-from-china/article/2572643
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and his wife Peng Liyuan wave upon arrival Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015, at Boeing Field in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Obama wants no-hacking pledge from China
By Nicole Duran (@Duranni1) • 9/22/15 8:48 PM
Chinese President Xi Jinping and the rest of the Chinese government understand how disturbed the Obama administration is over alleged Chinese-sponsored hacking into public and private data files in the U.S., and the issue will be a key topic of conversation between Obama and Xi during their meetings at the White House scheduled for later this week, the White House said Tuesday.
The Obama administration would "welcome a commitment" from Xi that his government will not engage in or condone cyber espionage on U.S. interests following up on his denial to the Wall Street Journal that state-sponsored hackers attacked the Office of Personnel Management and numerous major businesses this year. But the focus needs to be on China's actions, not Xi's words, National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Dan Kritenbrink told reporters.
The administration's "preference is to settle this through dialogue and diplomacy" he said. But the White House is not afraid to impose sanctions if warranted.
"Sanctions remain a tool of the United States," Kritenbrink said.
"There are a number of steps that we have already taken to make quite clear publicly our concerns," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday. "One of those was a decision by the Department of Justice to indict five Chinese military officials for their actions in cyberspace," he said, referring to the government's unprecedented move last May to charge the individuals believed to have hacked six U.S. companies in the nuclear, solar and metal sectors.
"And I think we got the best evidence that the Xi government understands how serious our concerns are because they dispatched a senior Chinese official … to travel to the United States and participate in conversations with a variety of U.S. government officials, including White House officials," Earnest said. He was referring to last week's meetings between Meng Jianzhu, a senior Communist Party secretary, and National Security Advisor Susan Rice, FBI Direct James Comey, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and others.
"And so I think it is quite clear to the Chinese exactly how serious our concerns are," Earnest continued, adding that the "issue will feature quite prominently on their agenda."
Xi arrives Thursday and he and Obama will have a private dinner at the White House ahead of their official meeting and formal state dinner slated for Friday.
Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, said informal settings like Thursday's dinner have proven the most fruitful for Obama and Xi in the past.
They make the most progress "without a formal agenda," Rhodes said, referring to two previous occasions. They were able to communicate their visions for their respective nations and "put aside their talking points and get a window into one another's world view," he said.
