US, Chinese re-connect on cyber talk(2)

In a Tuesday afternoon speech at George Washington University, Lu described the differences between the two countries in the cyber world as accounting for only 10 percent of the picture.

He attributed the differences to growing integration. "It is because of the deep integration, more extensive exchanges and closer contact between the Internet industries of China and the US that our differences are easily put under magnifying glasses and spotlight,"he said.

While Lu called the deep fusion a reflection of confidence, he said the differences reflect a lack of trust between the two countries which he believes could be improved through more contacts.

For the past years, the US has been accusing China of cyber theft of intellectual property. But the Chinese, like many people and governments in other countries, are deeply concerned over the revelations made by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of the wide-ranging surveillance activities conducted by the US government.

The Chinese are also frustrated that while the two countries vowed to strengthen cooperation on fighting terrorism in cyber space, the US is often reluctant to label those Uygur separatists who set off bombs in China as terrorists.

Novelli said the two countries are cooperating on a lot of things on the Internet. "There are lots of areas we can work on together,"she said.

A former executive at Apple before taking up the current post in February, Novelli said the two countries share a mutual responsibility to build up more broadband access, particularly in the developing world. She described it as directly linked to GDP growth.

She noted that societies and technology need to address problems such as identity theft and child pornography. "Those are things we have to acknowledge that exist and work together to find ways that are effective to address that,"she said.

In his talk at George Washington University, Lu told stories about the vibrant Internet industry in Beijing's Zhongguancun, known as China's Silicon Valley. He invited students to visit China's Internet firms there and mingle with the Chinese.

Steven Knapp, president of GW, said he hoped the talk would help contribute to the US-China conversation on the critical cyber topic.

"Cyber is one of the most important topics that we must manage well. And leadership is required in that arena in both Washington and Beijing,"he said.

Jiang Qiping, secretary general of the Information Research Center of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the US has been insisting the other countries be completely open in cyberspace, but that would bring huge Internet security concerns.

"I think the Chinese government is doing a good job on insisting on our own internet security criteria."