China and the United States should have dispassionate discussion and forge cooperation on the issue of cybersecurity, China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The remarks came after US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that the issue was likely to come up, in a brief meeting with Chinese delegates on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue, which runs from Friday to Sunday in Singapore.

Hagel, who was en route to the conference on Friday, said he would also address cybersecurity in his speech on Saturday.

"China would like to exchange ideas with the US on issues of common concern," spokesman Hong Lei said when asked whether Beijing and Washington would talk about cyberattacks in Singapore.

"We believe that we should have dispassionate discussion on the issue, bring in highlights in cooperation and jointly explore a peaceful, secure, transparent and equal cyberspace," Hong said.

Ministry of National Defense Spokesman Geng Yansheng said on Thursday that Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, will lead the Chinese delegation to the dialogue. He said Qi would address the general meeting to clarify China's defense policies and initiatives on regional security cooperation.

Qi will also "meet leaders of defense departments and the military of relevant countries and exchange ideas on the regional security situation and bilateral military relations", Geng said.

"Cyberthreats are real, they're terribly dangerous," Hagel said on Friday. "They're probably as insidious and real a threat (as there is) to the US, as well as China, by the way, and every nation."

Cyber conflict could lead to "quiet, stealthy, insidious, dangerous outcomes", from taking down power grids to destroying financial systems or neutralizing defense networks, Hagel said.

"That's not a unique threat to the US, (it affects) everybody, so we've got to find ways here of working with the Chinese, working with everybody, (to develop) rules of the road, some international understandings, some responsibility that governments have to take," he said.

Hagel's remarks came two days after news reports said the US Defense Science Board - a committee of civilian experts who advise the US Defense Department - had concluded that Chinese hackers have gained access to the designs of more than two dozen major US weapons systems in recent years. The Pentagon downplayed the report as outdated and overstated.

But it also underscored concerns about Chinese hacking in a separate report to the US Congress earlier this month, accusing Beijing of using cyber espionage to modernize its military.

Beijing has dismissed such accusations, saying they are groundless and that China itself is also a victim of the attacks.

Hagel said he had invited Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan to visit the US and a trip was being organized for August.

Wu Shicun, head of the National Institute of South China Sea Studies, who was invited to the Shangri-La event, said that the South China Sea issue is among the highlights of the meeting.

Tensions between China and the Philippines escalated this week over a Philippine warship that has been grounded on a Chinese reef in the South China Sea for years.

China Daily-Reuters

(China Daily 06/01/2013 page7)