United States and China have held their first ministerial talks on cyber security. China’s media reports yesterday high-level meeting produced positive results.

China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency says the 2 sides agreed on guidelines for cracking down on cyber crime. They also plan to set up a hotline for use by authorities in both countries.

The meeting in Washington followed an agreement between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met in September.

According to US media reports, the number of hacking cases are decreasing. This follows the indictment last year of a group of Chinese military officers who allegedly stole data from US companies. The US administration wants to maintain a high-level dialogue to ensure China keeps a close watch on cyber crime.