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Lack of meaningful cyberspace cooperation dark sign for global future

By Alexander Ely Source:Global Times Published: 2013-6-7 20:28:01

 

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

 

The ongoing summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama in California provides a critical opportunity for the two countries to improve bilateral relations.

With some clear disagreements already on display with regard to military deployments and regional alliances, and commentators on both sides expressing some unease about the future of the China-US relationship, one critical area where the two presidents can find common ground is the issue of cyber security.

Given some of the heated rhetoric recently from Washington and Beijing, it may seem ironic that the issue of cyber security would be an issue where the two could cooperate. But there are several reasons why China has a vested interest in taking this issue seriously, and in pursuing cooperation with the US.

China wishes to be treated as a great power, and as a great power, it deserves a role in designing new international institutions. The emerging issue of cyberspace security is one that the international community must grapple with, yet there currently are few existing legal frameworks or international agreements through which rules can be made and enforced.

China has the opportunity to shape new institutions that can help address common challenges and through which it can protect itself in the future.

Given China's vast economic growth, what is a challenge today for US companies will be a challenge tomorrow for Chinese firms.

Theft of corporate secrets from US companies is highly publicized because such companies have long been the most innovative and among the most profitable of all global corporations, and because attacks against US companies have increased recently.

Estimates vary on the cost per year to US companies, ranging typically from $250 billion to $1 trillion in losses.

However, if and when this pendulum swings to China's favor, its companies will benefit in the future if the groundwork is laid today for a new legal framework to protect the private sector from cyber theft and corporate espionage.

If the Chinese and Americans fail to cooperate in this area at the highest levels of government, the consequences could be dire.

In response to a study conducted by former US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and former US director of national intelligence Dennis Blair, many members of the US Congress are calling for unilateral sanctions against China and other countries where cyber attacks are suspected of originating.

Some observers are also calling for US companies to have the legal authority to retaliate in kind against corporate theft. But other experts argue that this would set a dangerous precedent and create a sort of free-for-all where private hackers could penetrate networks in other countries at will. Nobody in Beijing or Washington should want this.

A clear commitment by Xi and Obama which articulates a desire to develop a mutual framework for addressing cyber espionage would silence some of the more extreme voices on both sides of the debate.

This would also reduce the likelihood of a broader trade war between the two countries.

Finally, the issue of protecting the private sector in both countries from cyber theft could serve as a barometer for the likelihood of cooperation between the two governments moving forward, and could send a powerful signal to the rest of the world, and to the Asia-Pacific region specifically, that Beijing and Washington are serious about cooperation and mutual understanding.

On the other hand, an inability to cooperate on an area where there should be clear mutual interest would be an ominous sign for the future of the world's most important bilateral relationship.

The author is an independent foreign policy analyst currently based in Beijing, and was previously editor-in-chief of The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

Posted in: Viewpoint