Hacking, China's maritime claims overshadow Xi's US visit

As Chinese President Xi Jinping makes his first state visit to Washington this week, the outlook for relations is decidedly murkier than when he hosted President Barack Obama at their last summit less than a year ago.

Tensions are rising over allegations of Beijing-directed cyberattacks on the U.S. and China's moves to assert its South China Sea territorial claims. Much of the American public sees China as an economic threat and criticisms are rising over a sweeping crackdown on civil rights.
     
"U.S. suspicions regarding Chinese intentions are growing," said Aaron L. Friedberg, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University.
     
"The atmosphere surrounding this summit may be more negative than any in the post-Tiananmen period," Friedberg said, referring to China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1989 that marked the nadir in relations.
     
At the same time, belief in China's inexorable rise has been shaken by a stock market plunge and an economic slowdown that have sent shockwaves through global markets. And last month's catastrophic chemical warehouse explosion in a city just east of Beijing that killed 173 people have also underscored concerns about corruption and incompetence, increasing doubts about the viability of China's model of authoritarian governance.
     
Circumstances were different when the two leaders met in November at an Asia-Pacific summit in Beijing. Then, they could point to a much-heralded consensus on climate change, while China had just recently taken part in the premier U.S. naval exercise in the Pacific and appeared to be assuming greater responsibility for the global commons.
      
Finding common ground      
     
Not all is...