Senator Carper on U.S.-China Agreement on Cybersecurity

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, released the following statement after President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced an agreement on cybersecurity between the United States and China.

“Today’s agreement marks encouraging progress toward better protecting our nation’s ideas and ingenuity.  It also represents a significant step toward building a long-term and robust pact on cybersecurity with China. That being said, we can’t just believe what China says.  We also have to see what they do and continue to monitor their actions in cyberspace very closely. 

“I know some of my colleagues will say that this agreement doesn’t do enough. But we must start somewhere and this is more than a good start. As a former naval flight officer who served our nation for five years during a hot war in Southeast Asia and for another 18 years until the end of the Cold War, I am reminded of our negotiations on nuclear arms reduction limitations. With that initiative, we took a modest but meaningful first step by stopping atmospheric testing.  At the end of the day, we ended up with a lot more. Likewise, we shouldn’t be satisfied by this agreement alone; more must be done. 

“In order for this agreement to be successful, everyone must do their part to uphold their end of the deal, including the United States. If we can get this agreement fully implemented, it will be a major achievement. Congress also has a responsibility to continue to help our nation strengthen its cyber defenses, including passing an information sharing bill, which is critical to our national security as well as the security of many companies across our country. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress and the Administration as we continue this important effort.”