Snowden affair blunts U.S. push for China to curb cyber theft
Snowden's disclosures of American electronic surveillance around the world give China an argument to counter U.S. complaints that it steals private intellectual property (IP) from U.S. companies and research centers.
Cyber security is at the center 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.
Top U.S. officials, from Obama down, have long tried to convince China to recognize a clear line between the kind of cyber espionage by spy agencies revealed by Snowden and the theft of technology.
"This Snowden thing has muddied the waters in a terrible way," said James McGregor, author of a book on China's authoritarian capitalism and industrial policy.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/09/us-usa-china-cyber-idUSBRE96713220130709
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