Cyber Security On Agenda As Obama Welcomes Xi

Barack Obama has welcomed the Chinese president to a 'shirt sleeve' summit in baking desert heat - wherehe will read him the riot act over claims Beijing is stealing America's secrets. Speaking to journalists at the start of the talks, Mr Obama and Xi Jinping said they would aim to "work together" on a list of disputes and wanted to achieve a "new model of co-operation". Mr Obama said a strong relationship between the globe's two largest economies was"important for the world". Mr Xi said he hoped the meeting would"shape the future" of the US-China relationship and renewed his call for a "new model" of relationships between major world powers. The issue of cyber security threatens to overshadow the summit. The US is furious at what it sees as China hacking its way into sensitive military technology and helping itself tointellectual property of American firms. China has denied the allegations but claimed that the US is guilty of cyber attacks itself. Embarrassingly for the US, the summit is taking place against a backdrop of revelations about how much Washington has been snooping on its own population. Mr Obama and Mr Xi are meeting at the 200-acre Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage on the edge of California's Mojave desert. The setting was chosen, according tothe White House, to give the two leaders a less formal environment in which they could speak more freely and build trust. It allows, officials say, for more "candour". The pair were not due to meet until later this year and the fact that they are meeting now is being seen by analysts as an indication that both sides want to improve the relationship between Washington and Beijing. Mickey Kantor, a former US Commerce Secretary and now co-director of the Pacific Council for Foreign Relations, told Sky News it was critical the two leaders develop a personal bond. But he cautioned against expectations for a major breakthrough. "Compromise is the only answer in the end and the Chineseknow that. Either you are going to have a stalemate which is in no one's interests or you're going to compromise. I believe this meetingwill move us forward. "Will they solve every issue? Of course not, you never will. Can they put a process in place that where we can begin to address these issues more effectively? I believe they can." Analysts have compared the attempts to create trust between Mr Obama and Mr Xi to President Nixon's visit to China in 1972 with hopes of a 'Sunnylands Comminque' to outline a roadmap for the future. Sky News.