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Obama, China president to talk hacking -- report

President Obama is hoping that China's president, Xi Jinping, will acknowledge that the countries can work together on cyberspying.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger

President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will have a serious discussion on cybersecurity at a summit they're holding today in California, according to a new report.

Speaking to an unidentified U.S. official, Reuters reported Friday that Obama will ask that Xi assures him that China takes seriously the gripes the U.S. has with its alleged hacking efforts. It's believed that for years, China has been hacking into U.S. government and company servers and gaining access to classified information. Over the last several months, however, more of the details on that alleged hacking have come to light, indicating that China has ramped up efforts to steal information.

In the official's discussion with Reuters, he or she said that Obama will ask that Xi "abide by international norms and affirm clear rules of the road." The U.S. president also wants to tell Xi that any cyberattacks originating from China are the government's responsibility.

It's doubtful that Xi will stay silent during the discussions. For months, China has been using its government media outlets to ramp up rhetoric against the U.S. China has said that the U.S. is actively targeting its own government networks, and that its threats outweigh those presented by China.

All of this comes against the backdrop of claims that the U.S. has been gaining access to its own citizens' data through backdoors in servers at several tech companies. The companies allegedly involved in that effort have denied any collaboration with the government.