News in China has been dominated by President Xi Jinxing’s visit to the United States. In China’s domestic media, Xi’s State visit even managed to somewhat overshadow the trip of British Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who made an important journey to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in an effort to increase ties between the two governments. Nonetheless, the big news which emerged on Friday was the agreement by Xi and Obama to implement a cyber crimes truce. President Obama revealed during a joint press conference that the two leaders had agreed that neither country would engage in cyber economic espionage, a deal which covers the theft of trade secrets but not national security information. Meanwhile, Xi noted that, "China and the United States are two major cyber countries and we should strengthen dialogue and cooperation.”

The issue of hacking has strained ties over the past few years and has been a constant sticking point in the “new model of major country relations.” From 2013, when the phrase “new model of major country relations” was first introduced, until now, it is arguable as to whether much has changed within this new model with regard to the issue of cyber security. Ultimately, the broad differences which existed in 2013, when cyber hacking allegations started to eclipse trade issues within the press, remain as we approach the end of 2015.

Two years ago, when the issue of cyber security was put firmly on the agenda, Yan Xuetong, Dean of Tsinghua University’s Institute of Modern International Relations said there were no norms governing the important area of cyber security. He noted, “I don’t think at this moment (2013) we have any widely accepted norm or definition of how to govern cyber security. From my understanding, what we really need is a cooperation to develop a common definition of cyber security and establish more norms to govern cyber activity.”

Fast forward to this last Friday, and it seems as if the US and China are finally making progress in this area. As well as the truce, which has been widely reported, China and the US have agreed to establish a high-level joint dialogue mechanism on fighting cybercrime and related issues. Furthermore, both sides have laid out their commitment to making common efforts to further identify and promote appropriate norms of state behaviour in cyberspace within the international community. This is all very positive language and seems to represent a marked progress from two years ago.

However, widely respected analyst on China-US relations and also member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Dr. Cui Liru has in the past noted that the “cyber security issue is not bilateral; it is multilateral. It’s a global issue.” Thus, defining norms with regard to this issue must be carried out at a multilateral level, not just between China and the US. And it is here where the apparent progress may hit a stumbling block.

China does not want to define norms for the entire international order via a bilateral relationship with the US. The US has been at the forefront of the creation of most of the world’s international institutions, and this is something that China is keen to avoid. China’s definition of the current US-China relationship, namely a new model of major country relations, was formulated so as to emphasise that China does not see itself as one of only two global superpowers, but rather one of many major countries, which includes the United States. The definition very much mirrors the changing state of the international order, and is intended to give the impression of equality amongst major countries.

President Obama has suggested that China and the US lead the way on establishing norms in the sphere of cyber security. The US defined its own preferred cyberspace norms in its 2011 International Strategy for Cyberspace, which include internet openness, security, liberty, free speech and the use of minimal government oversight and surveillance. There has been little success implementing the US vision on the international order of cyberspace. Their efforts have been hampered by domestic and international surveillance disclosures, which have made it harder for other countries to trust the US, and thus harder for the US to convince other countries of its commitment to common interests and values.

With regards to the issue of cyber security, the US President stated prior to Friday’s announcement that, “If we and the Chinese are able to coalesce around a process for negotiations, then I think we can bring a lot of other countries along.” This was a clear call for the US and China to lead the way on defining norms for state behaviour in cyberspace. There has been no such suggestion from China, which is no doubt conscious of the fact that by calling for a US-China led initiative, they could very well alienate their friends in the developed and developing world.

Going forward, promoting norms will be a lengthy task, especially as there is also mutual misunderstanding regarding the issues that are being discussed. Kenneth Lieberthal of the Brookings Institution recently stated in an interview with NPR, “We don’t even agree on the vocabulary at this point. We use the same words with different meanings, and so there’s a lot of ground to clear before we get meaningful agreement.” So, while the news on Friday represents a step in the right direction for China and US ties, observers can expect a prolonged process which is likely to involve much discussion and disagreement before a level playing field can be reached for both sides.