Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States has expanded consensus and cooperation between the two countries, as well as clarified the direction of the development of China-U.S. relations, said Teng Jianqun, director of the American Studies Department of the China Institute of International Studies. [Special coverage]
Teng made his remarks in Beijing on Monday as Xi wrapped up his state visit to the U.S., where he was to address the UN General Assembly in New York today as the world body celebrates its 70th anniversary.
In the 49 agreements that Xi and U.S. President Barack Obama reached during the visit, which was released on Sept 26, China and the U.S. agreed "that timely responses should be provided to requests for information and assistance concerning malicious cyber activities", and "neither country's government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property", according to Xinhua news agency.
Teng regarded the agreement as "a great step forward".
"The two countries used to voice merely their own demands when coming to the issue of cybersecurity. Their talks were in different channels. Now they have expanded their agreement concerning this issue," he said.
Also, the list of consensus contains agreements that he said are "feasible".
"For example, the annexes the two countries completed in the areas of military cooperation and security are highly necessary and can be implemented right away," Teng said.
The fact that the list of consensus was issued instead of a joint statement or a communique during Xi's visit shows that both countries were not focusing on mere formality, he said.
"Many of the differences between the two countries are structural and hard to overcome, but trying to control them and keep them from developing into a crisis or conflict shows the pragmatic attitude of their leaders," Teng said.
