Xi and Obama discuss cyber security

On the last day of his stay in California, President Xi held a second meeting with Barack Obama. Both leaders pledged to build a new type of relationship.

"Terrific," that was the word President Obama used when he told reporters how was the meeting going at the start of the Day 2.

Upbeat as the mood seemed to be - both leaders have touched upon some very thorny issues during the summit.

On the US side, cyber security topped the agenda of meeting. The US had complained about computer hacking from China.

In the news conference after the first bilateral meeting, President Xi said China is firm in upholding cyber security, and he added that through negotiation, the US and China could resolve the cyber security issue a positive way.

Xi said, "We need to pay close attention to this issue and study ways to effectively resolve the issue and this matter can effectively be an area for China and the United States to work together with each other in a pragmatic way and I'm happy to learn that within the context of the China-U.S. strategic and economic dialogue, a working group has been established to discuss cyber security issues. So this is an issue that the two sides will continue to discuss."

For China, fostering a new type of relationship between the 2 big powers was at the top of agenda.

With Sino-US sometimes descending into increasingly heated competition, the challenge now for the 2 nations, it was seen here, was not just to avoid conflict, but to create a constructive framework where difficult problems such as cyber security, trade frictions or territorial issues can be can managed.

Both US and China pledged to build a new type of relation. President Obama believes a broader scope of communication, such as military-to-military communication and joint efforts in dealing with climate issues, will take the U.S.-China relationship to a new level. On the environment both sides agreed to outline a plan to reduce consumption of hydro carbons to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Obama said, "It is very much in the interest of the United States for China to continue its' peaceful rise because if China is successful, that helps to drive the world economy and it puts China in the position to work with us as equal partners in dealing with many of the global challenges that no single nation can address by itself."

Zou Yun said, "The meeting between Chinese president Xi Jinping and US president Barack Obama is seen a step in the right direction. It is the hope of both sides that this new, more informal dialogue will serve to boost bilateral cooperation over a wide range of issues in the years ahead. "