Following Chinese President Xi’s visit to the U.S. last week, we have found little actual material specifically pointing to an agreement on economic cyber espionage activity between the U.S. and China. As of today, we have the White House Fact Sheet, the joint statement from U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, and a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) signed by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China.
The White House Fact Sheet includes only a few bullet points that address cyber economic espionage conducts of both states, including:
- Both states affirming the importance of developing and protecting intellectual property; and
- Both states affirm to refrain from conducting or knowingly supporting misappropriation of intellectual property for the benefit of national and commercial businesses.
The joint statement between AG Lynch and Secretary Johnson outlined the agreement between President Obama and President Xi. The statement provided that the first session of dialogue will be held before the end of the calendar year. According to the statement, the U.S. and China agreed to commit to (among others):
- Establish a “high-level joint dialogue mechanism” on cybercrime and other cyber issues; and
- Establish a “hotline” between the two nations to address “urgent issues or difficulties” that have not been resolved.
The MOU between the U.S. and China does not specifically mention cyber issues. We will continue to search for evidence of the cyber agreement. Stay tuned.
The actual MOU can be found here.
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