Cyber disputes loom large as Obama meets China's Xi

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with China's Vice President Xi Jinping in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, February 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday that the United States welcomes China's "peaceful rise" and seeks a world order where all countries play by the same rules on thorny issues like cybersecurity.

At the start of a two-day summit at a luxurious desert estate in southern California, Obama said the world's two biggest economies must strike a balance between competition and cooperation to overcome the challenges that divide them.