Chinese State Councilor for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State John Kerry

Russia and China are on the verge of signing a unique cybersecurity cooperation agreement that would allow the two states to conduct “joint cybersecurity operations”, according to reports in Russian media.

The Russian-language site Kommersant, which Forbes says is owned by Alisher Usmanov, an ally of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, broke the news, quoting anonymous sources close to the Kremlin. The report was later picked up by Russia’s state-funded RT News.

Kommersant says the agreement will be formally concluded during Putin’s state visit to China next month. The draft of the treaty is said to outline a mutual agreement opposing the use of cyberattacks to interfere with foreign states to “undermine sovereignty, or disrupt social, economic or political order”.

It adds the new treaty would be much more comprehensive than a similar 2013 agreement between Russia and the United States, which created a hotline for the two nations to warn each other about cyber exercises that could be perceived as cyberattacks. Russia and the US also agreed to create a joint cyber working group and an exchange of technical expertise.

The deal comes at a time when tensions over cybersecurity are running high between China, Russia and the US. Both China and Russia have been critical of the NSA’s mass surveillance programs, while the US has frequently berated China over its cyber espionage activities. More recently, the United States extradited and is now prosecuting suspected Russian hacker Roman Seleznev, while China lambasted the Americans for pulling out of cybersecurity talks scheduled for this November.

“Due to mistaken U.S. practices, it is difficult at this juncture to resume Sino-U.S. cybersecurity dialogue and cooperation,” said Chinese State Councilor for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi after a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry.

Not so long ago, Beijing and Moscow concluded a $600 million deal to build a new underwater link between the two countries.

photo credit: Mark Turner via photopin cc