U.S. Scolds China for Online Attacks

Washington: Top Obama administration officials admonished China in a bilateral meeting on Tuesday for sponsoring online attacks against businesses, but they remained silent - at least publicly - on the suspected role of Chinese hackers in the recently discovered theft from government computers of personal data on millions of federal employees and contractors.

Vice President Joe Biden, after praising China for some economic and diplomatic actions, suggested that the country was not a "responsible competitor" in cyberspace.

"Nations that use cybertechnology as an economic weapon, or profits from the theft of intellectual property," he said, "are sacrificing tomorrow's gains for short-term gains today."

Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew raised the topic more than once at the meeting, known as the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, saying at one point, "We remain deeply concerned about government-sponsored cybertheft from companies and commercial sectors."

Secretary of State John Kerry said little publicly on the subject, but he told the visitors that the two sides would have "a very frank discussion of cybersecurity and other ongoing concerns" once they went behind closed doors.

The officials' remarks, opening two days of meetings, confirmed that the hacking issue would cloud the discussions, which were expected to cover a range of matters, many of them also divisive. Those include policies on trade, banking and investment, China's currency and its disputed claims in the South China Sea - the last another issue on which Biden and Kerry publicly scolded China.

While expectations are low for achievements at the seventh annual gathering, both sides hope for progress toward agreements to be announced in September, when President Xi Jinping comes to Washington for a state visit.

The Chinese officials were publicly mum on the Americans' hacking complaints, except for a nonresponsive comment from State Councilor Yang Jiechi.

"We believe that cybersecurity is very important," he said. "We think that countries should work together to develop an international code of conduct for cyberinformation sharing."

U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, have linked China's government to the hacking of insurance companies, military contractors and other corporate interests in the U.S. But, as on Tuesday, they have stopped short of publicly accusing the Chinese government of complicity in the attacks that stole personal, financial and medical records of at least 4 million federal workers, and perhaps millions more people, although intelligence and private sector officials have traced the invasions to one or more groups in China.

Kerry lauded the nations' joint efforts in several areas: Afghanistan, North Korea, counterterrorism and the negotiations to limit Iran's nuclear program. With a deadline looming, those talks "are reaching a pivotal moment," he said. All those subjects are on the meeting's agenda.

But Kerry chided China for plans to expand construction of outposts in waters that are the subject of disputes with neighboring nations, citing "the need to reduce tensions - rather than add to them - in the South China Sea and the East China seas." Biden implicitly rebuked China as well, saying that "responsible countries" respect international sea lanes, and criticizing "nations that disregard diplomacy and use coercion and intimidation to settle disputes."

While human rights groups complain that the administration gives their concerns short shrift in forums with China, Biden did question Beijing's treatment of women, minorities, journalists and religious leaders, as well as nongovernmental, civil society and education groups. Responsible nations "respect human rights not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's absolutely economically necessary," he said.

The conclave opened on a positive note, however, as Kerry, Lew and their counterparts celebrated the climate change accord that their nations' presidents announced in November, committing both to lower greenhouse gas emissions.