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Three Chinese Digital Economy Policies at Stake in the U.S.–China Talks

Abstract: 
The Chinese government created the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China, which was enacted to “increase cybersecurity and national security, safeguard cyberspace sovereignty and public interest, protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations…” While many of these mandates seem perfectly desirable for any entity, they also use ambiguous verbiage to reserve power for the government; this has caused a myriad of concerns within technology companies operating in the Chinese market. This article covers all three parts of China’s comprehensive internal cybersecurity policy. First, the law mandates that all data on Chinese citizens must be stored on domestic servers. Second, they require that all testing and certification of computer equipment be done by Chinese officials. Third, officials mandate that any verification of Chinese companies following the cybersecurity law can be performed by authorities without any prior notice. Key words: China cybersecurity policy, People’s Liberation Army, China Communist Party, Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent
Author: 
Graham Webster, Samm Sacks, and Paul Triolo
Institution: 
New America
Year: 
2019
Domains-Issue Area: 
Region(s): 
Industry Focus: 
Internet & Cyberspace
Datatype(s): 
Policies