Spy affair clouds US, China cybertalks

Revelations by former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden will make it harder for the United States to confront China at talks this week over the alleged cybertheft of trade secrets worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Snowden’s disclosures of American electronic surveillance around the world give China an argument to counter US complaints that it steals private intellectual property (IP) from US companies and research centres.

Cybersecurity is at the centre of high-level talks between the two countries in Washington that will show whether a positive tone struck by President Barack Obama and new Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit last month can translate into cooperation on difficult issues.