US-China Hail “Constructive” Summit

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have ended a two-day summit described by a U.S. official as “unique, positive and constructive”, even as neither side gave details of any new ground broken on the most contentious issues in the relationship which include alleged Chinese cyber espionage and China’s aggression in the disputed waters of Asia.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have ended a two-day summit described by a U.S. official as “unique, positive and constructive”, even as neither side gave details of any new ground broken on the most contentious issues in the relationship which include alleged Chinese cyber espionage and China’s aggression in the disputed waters of Asia.

Billed as a get-to-know session, the summit in a California desert was the first meeting between the two leaders since Xi took office in March and both sides were keen to dispel what the Brookings Institution last year described as growing “strategic distrust” between the world’s two largest economies.

Hailing the informal talks as a historic moment that would help avert future conflict, the White House announced a new joint effort between the rivals to combat climate change, specifically the production of hydroflurocarbons, and said the two leaders had achieved “quite a bit if alignment” on how to rein in North Korea, whose belligerent rhetoric in recent months has rattled the Asia-Pacific as well as the United States.

“They agreed that North Korea has to denuclearise, that neither country will accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and that we would work together to deepen cooperation and dialogue to achieve denuclearisation,” said White House national security adviser Tom Donilon.

Related: China Agrees With US On North Korea Sanctions

Describing cyber-security as “uncharted waters”, Obama on Friday called for “common rules of the road” to protect against hacking – a term he has used in the past to protest Chinese currency manipulation and trade abuses.

Earlier, Xi’s senior foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi told reporters that China wanted cooperation rather than friction with the U.S. over cyber security. “Cyber security should not become the root cause of mutual suspicion and friction, rather it should be a new bright spot in our cooperation,” he said.

“We have to stay each other’s partners, not rivals,” Yang said, adding that China is “against all forms of hacking and cyber attacks”.

Related: War of Words Ensues As Pentagon Accuses China of Cyber Espionage

Related: Cyberattacks Bigger US Security Threat than Terrorism

Expressing hope for a “new model of cooperation between countries based on mutual interest and mutual respect”, Obama said:

[quote] It is in the United States’ interests that China continues on the path of success because we believe that a peaceful and stable and prosperous China is not only good for the Chinese, but also good for the world and the United States. [/quote]

Despite the attempt to recalibrate the relationship, U.S. and other foreign observers cautioned that high level talks between China and the U.S. in July will be the first real test of the mutual understanding and personal chemistry both sides said they forged this past weekend.

The next round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue will be held in Washington from July 8 – 12.