State Visit Outcomes Include US-China Cyber Space Cooperation

On September 26, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) published a report on the "main consensus and outcomes" from Chinese President Xi Jinping's first state visit to the United States, which lasted from September 22-25. 

 

The list includes several critical outcomes relevant to the information communications technology industry, including agreement that "creating the conditions for expanded two-way trade and investment in the technology sector and avoiding measures that restrict it are critical to sustaining positive momentum in the economic relationship between our countries." 

 

Other resolutions include:
  • "Affirm the value of adopting technology-product international standards that have been developed in an open, transparent, market-driven, and balanced manner that allow for due process"
  • "Affirm the importance of competition policy approaches that ensure fair and non-discriminatory treatment of entities and that avoid the enforcement of competition law to pursue industrial policy goals"
  • "Commit that generally applicable measures to enhance information and communication technology cybersecurity in commercial sectors (ICT cybersecurity regulations) should be consistent with WTO agreements, be narrowly tailored, take into account international norms, be nondiscriminatory, and not impose nationality-based conditions or restrictions, on the purchase, sale, or use of ICT products by commercial enterprises unnecessarily"
  • "Affirm that generally applicable measures regulating technology products in the commercial sector benefit from meaningful consultation with the private sector, governments, and other stakeholders to encourage innovative, flexible, and cost-effective solutions"
  • "Affirm the importance of developing and protecting intellectual property, including trade secrets, and commit not to advance generally applicable policies or practices that require the transfer of intellectual property rights or technology as a condition of doing business in their respective markets"
  • "Affirm that states should not conduct or knowingly support misappropriation of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information with the intent of providing competitive advantages to their companies or commercial sectors" and that "that states and companies should not by illegal methods make use of technology and commercial advantages to gain commercial benefits"
In addition, the report cites agreement for further bilateral dialogue between the US and China on cybersecurity, specifically in the area of fighting cybercrime and in identifying and promoting relevant norms for state behavior in cyberspace, with specific reference to the July 2015 report of the UN Group of Governmental Experts in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security. 

 

The report also lists agreement for the establishment of a "high-level joint dialogue mechanism on fighting cybercrime and related issues," with China designating "an official at the ministerial level to be the lead and the Ministry of Public Security,Ministry of State Security, Ministry of Justice, and the State Internet and Information Office" to participate. The mechanism is to meet once before the end of 2015, and twice per year thereafter. 

 

For the entire list of MOFA outcomes, please visit theMOFA official website.