New China Hacking Talks Are a Waste of Time

The best comparison of tensions between China and the United States that was never resolved in America’s favor was the yuan-fixing problem, which came to a head more than a year ago. Tim Geithner was dispatched to Beijing after pressure from Congress to resolve the issue. President Obama raised concerns with China’s president at the same time. The clash on the matter still lingers. China’s habit of negotiating without negotiating with the United States is well established, and it always has favored the interests of the People’s Republic.

The new conversations about hacking began in the past few days. According to The New York Times:

The United States and China have agreed to hold regular, high-level talks on how to set standards of behavior for cybersecurity and commercial espionage, the first diplomatic effort to defuse the tensions over what the United States says is a daily barrage of computer break-ins and theft of corporate and government secrets.

The talks will begin in July. Next Friday,President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China, who took office this spring, are scheduled to hold an unusual, informal summit meeting in Rancho Mirage, Calif., that could set the tone for their relationship and help them confront chronic tensions like the nuclear threat from North Korea.

American officials say they do not expect the process to immediately yield a significant reduction in the daily intrusions from China. The head of the United States Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, has said the attacks have resulted in the “greatest transfer of wealth in history.” Hackers have stolen a variety of secrets, including negotiating strategies and schematics for next-generation fighter jets and gas pipeline control systems.

The key point of the report is that “officials say they do not expect the process to immediately yield a significant reduction.” China has broken a series of laws, and in the process compromised U.S. government and corporate interests. The American government says it can prove that, according to a number of media reports. Yet it has decided to push the process slowly.

It is like the yuan problem all over again.