U.S.-China remain far apart on maritime, cyber security issues

China's President Xi Jinping, center, gestures during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing July 10. © Reuters

BEIJING (Kyodo) -- China and the U.S. agreed Thursday on the importance of moving quickly to denuclearize North Korea, but indicated that they could not bridge gaps over maritime and cyber-spying issues.

     Regarding territorial spats in the East and South China seas, China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi, speaking at a joint press conference after the two countries closed out annual high-level talks in Beijing, said his country will "resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and maritime rights and interests."

     Yang said China has requested that the United States be more "objective" and "take a fair stance" on the disputes, which involve countries such as Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

     On cyber security, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who represented Washington at the two-day Strategic and Economic Dialogue, pointed out that his country is facing a serious threat from industrial espionage.

     Kerry, however, said the two countries had frank talks on cyber issues and agreed to continue discussions on them.

     In May, China canceled meetings planned for the dialogue after the U.S. Justice Department indicted five Chinese military officers on charges of hacking into U.S. computers to steal corporate secrets.

     Despite differences over the thorny issues, the two countries acknowledged the "important urgency" of stopping North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Kerry said.

     Yang said China and the United States agreed to aim for North Korea's denuclearization through "dialogue."

     U.S. has long argued that China should use its close relationship with North Korea to pressure the country to give up its nuclear capabilities.

     In recent months, China has moved to improve relations with South Korea, suggesting that its tolerance for North Korea's unruly behavior is waning.

     During a visit to Seoul last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun Hye agreed to work towards peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

     Just after the strategic dialogue, Kerry met with Xi at the Great Hall of the People.

     "I hope through the joint efforts of both sides we can make sure the China-U.S. relationship will make sound progress in the right direction," Xi told Kerry and his delegation at the outset. "Let me stress that China will make unrelenting efforts in that direction."

     Kerry, in return, said U.S. President Barack Obama wants to "emphasize that the United States welcomes and wants a strong, prosperous and stable China."
"There's no U.S. strategy to try to push back against or be in conflict with China," he said.