Senior officials from the US and China will meet in Washington this week for the latest round of their high-profile Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Following last month’s summit between President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, there is much for both sides to discuss. The US wants the new Chinese leadership to take a tougher line over North Korea’s nuclear programme. Washington wants to make progress with Beijing on climate change, amid signs that the issue has moved up the Chinese agenda. But the most politically charged issue is whether the US can persuade China to scale back the huge amount of cyber espionage against US companies that it is accused of engaging in.
At last month’s summit, President Obama took this issue right to the heart of the bilateral relationship. Given the growing concern of US business, he was right to do so. China vehemently rejects claims that it is stealing US and western commercial secrets. But the US is increasingly vocal in its allegations that this is now a significant threat to American competitiveness.
This year, a 60-page report by Mandiant, a US computer security company, found that Unit 61398 of China’s People’s Liberation Army was directly responsible for attacks on US corporations. Tom Donilon, the former White House national security adviser, has complained that cyber attacks are “emanating from China on an unprecedented scale”. General Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and commander of US Cyber Command, says cyber theft is bringing about “the greatest transfer of wealth in history”.