After hours of discussions with Xi at a California desert retreat, Obama called it important to “distinguish between the deep concerns we have as a government around theft of intellectual property or hacking into systems that might disrupt those systems … versus some of the issues that have been raised around NSA programs.”

Obama planned to press the Chinese leader about cybersecurity — U.S. officials cite growing Chinese hacking of American companies — but new revelations about the National Security Agency collecting massive amounts of phone and Internet data are overshadowing that agenda.

Before departing for the two-day summit with Xi, Obama insisted the “modest encroachments on privacy” by his NSA were needed to protect the homeland. Obama added that he and Xi discussed cybersecurity just at the “40,000-foot level,” talks that will continue on Saturday.