China, Canada in cyber pact

China and Canada have signed an agreement vowing not to conduct state-sponsored cyberattacks against each other aimed at stealing trade secrets or other confidential information.

The agreement was reached during talks between Canada’s national security and intelligence adviser, Daniel Jean, and senior communist party official Wang Yongqing, a statement dated June 22 on the Canadian government’s website showed.

“This is something that three or four years ago [Beijing] would not even have entertained in the conversation,” an unnamed Canadian government official told the Globe and Mail, which first reported the agreement.

The new agreement only covers economic cyberespionage, which includes hacking corporate secrets and proprietary technology, but does not deal with statesponsored cyber spying for intelligence gathering.