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President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping(Photo: Doug Mills, AP)
WASHINGTON —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>President Obama hosted Chinese<span style="color: Red;">*</span>counterpart Xi Jinping for a private dinner Thursday as they and their aides prepared for meetings designed to deal with cyber security and a new agreement to cooperate on combating climate change.
Though Obama aides trumpeted a climate change deal to be announced Friday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Obama and Xi are <span style="color: Red;">*</span><span style="color: Red;">*</span>likely to have tense talks over allegations of cyber theft and a Chinese military buildup in the South Chinese Sea.
The low-key dinner at Blair House, across the street from the White House, preceded Xi's official state visit <span style="color: Red;">*</span>Friday. The presidents broke bread in the shadow of rising tensions between the United States and China.
The Obama administration has accused China of cyber espionage on the U.S. government and on private American companies. It has also protested the Chinese military buildup in the South China Sea, calling it a provocation toward U.S. allies such as Japan and South Korea.
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In the agreement to be announced Friday, the United States<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and China will outline a "common vision" for a global climate change agreement to be negotiated at a conference in December in Paris.
The United States and China will <span style="color: Red;">*</span>pledge to expand domestic programs to reduce heat-trapping carbon emissions, develop new and cleaner sources of energy and find ways to finance these kinds of projects.
The deal builds on an agreement <span style="color: Red;">*</span>Obama and Xi reached the last time the American president visited China, in late 2014.
The Chinese delegation’s spokesman said the the small working dinner, with the two presidents and a handful of aides on both sides, serves a major goal of his president.
“President Xi is interested in enhancing understanding, that’s why they would benefit from an informal dialog,”<span style="color: Red;">*</span>China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Thursday. He would not predict what the two leaders would agree to during the visit, but said "teams on both sides are working very hard for deliverables the [president]<span style="color: Red;">*</span>can announce tomorrow.”
They agree on many areas of common interest, including economics, climate change, nuclear non-proliferation and resolving conflict with Iran and on the Korean peninsula, he said.
China and the USA "may have some differences sometimes, but we also have a lot of common ground,” Lu said. "Any cooperation, any joint venture will have to based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and also equality,” Lu said.
"China is also a victim of cyber attack and cyber crimes," Lu said. "The right approach is for countries to work together rather than undertake unconstructive approaches.”
Lu said China is against the U.S. indictments last year<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of five Chinese military officials accused of industrial espionage against<span style="color: Red;">*</span>U.S.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Companies, and it’s also against sanctions threatened by Congress, Lu said.
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The parties would also like to reach an agreement on cyber security, but prospects for that are uncertain.
"We have made clear to the Chinese both publicly and private that issues related to cyber security —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and our concerns with China's conduct in cyberspace —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>will feature prominently on the agenda," <span style="color: Red;">*</span>White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
U.S. officials have pointed at China for the theft of millions of personal records —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>from fingerprints to medical records —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that were hacked from the Office of Personnel Management.
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China has accused the United States<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of spying on it<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and interfering in internal manners.
During a stop in Seattle this week, Xi said,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"The Chinese government will not, in whatever form, engage in commercial theft, hacking against government networks, crimes that must be punished in accordance with the law and relevant international treaties."
Earnest said,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"We put more stock in their actions than their words."
The United States and its allies have protested the construction of islands in the South China Sea that have been stocked with military bases. U.S. surveillance of these sites has led to near-confrontations between American and Chinese aircraft.
Obama and Xi are likely to discuss follow-ups to the Iran nuclear agreement, as well as ways to confront North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
The dinner at Blair House was designed to provide a low-key opening for Xi's visit, which followed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Obama's high-profile meeting with Pope Francis.
In addition to bilateral meetings, Obama and Xi will conduct a brief news conference. Xi will be guest of honor at a formal state dinner in the White House on Friday.
The Chinese president will receive a White House welcome ceremony, though it will probably draw a smaller crowd than the 11,000-plus who watched Francis roll up to the presidential residence.
Unlike the event for the pope, who controls no armed forces, Obama and Xi will conduct a military review during the welcome ceremony, including a 21-gun salute.
"So there you go," Earnest said. "Pop your popcorn."
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