US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew described as "very different issues" the accusations over cyber security that the United States and China have leveled at each other, while chalking up the disagreements to expected disruptions that won't upset economic relations.

Lew, recalling his trip to Beijing in March, said the "core cyber security issue that I raised with them was the theft of intellectual property, trade secrets. It is fundamentally a different set of issues and it's something that is going to remain high on our agenda of issues to talk with them about. And it will be a difficult issue."

He contrasted those US concerns with Chinese officials' allegations of hypocrisy against Washington in the wake of disclosures from former contract worker Edward Snowden about National Security Agency phone and Internet surveillance programs.

"When you look at the issues that I've just described - the theft of intellectual property, trade secrets, State-owned enterprises that have relationships that benefit from those [cyber hacking] activities - it's just different than other kinds of issues in the cyber area," Lew said on Sunday evening at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado.

Chinese officials "say to us, and fairly, that we both face risks from outside forces", Lew said. He expects the two sides will address cyber issues of the kind he cited during the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue from July 8 to 12 in Washington.

"There are always going to be challenges between the United States and China, and I think when I look at the conversation, I think it's more constructive to look at the areas where we can make progress working together than to just focus on challenges," he said in response to an audience member's question.

"The list of issues that we raise with them, that I've raised on a number of occasions with my counterparts, is, happily, the same list of issues that they need to deal with to make their economy work. They fundamentally have to move from a place where they have a very rigid, structured support for old industries and they go to more market-determined interest rates, market-determined investment policies, opening their markets more to international investment.

"And I think they understand that, and the fact that there are other issues that do come up between us can't become an issue as we talk about the core economic issues, which are frankly things China needs to do in order for it to grow its economy. I mean, China was growing at 10 percent-plus a year. Now the question is, will they be at 8, 7 or 6? It makes a huge difference in China if they're growing 1 percent more or less - it makes a huge difference for the world economy and it makes a huge difference for the US economy."

josephboris@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 07/01/2013 page3)