Obama urges ‘swift work’ on cyber issues in call with Chinese leader

President Obama in a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “swift work” between the two nations to narrow their differences on cybersecurity issues, the White House said.

The two leaders spoke Tuesday night and discussed a number of economic and security concerns, according to the White House.

{mosads}The two countries have long been at odds over cyber spying, with U.S. officials expressing alarm at Chinese hackers. Last year, the U.S. brought criminal hacking charges against members of the Chinese military. And during an Asian summit last year, Obama criticized cyberattacks targeting American businesses.

The president on Tuesday also thanked Xi for China’s contributions to fighting the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa and work toward a climate change accord ahead of the Paris Climate Summit in December.

During Obama’s visit to China in November, the two countries announced an historic deal that would see China limit its greenhouse gas emissions.

The two leaders also discussed their commitment to “jointly encouraging” Iran to reach a deal with the international community on its nuclear program.

Xi is scheduled to visit Washington later this year and the White House said Obama told the Chinese leader he looked forward to the visit.