Cybersecurity regulations resumed in China

After news of China stopping plans to regulate cyber security earlier this year, the country has now decided to resume plans and ask Western technology companies for advice on how to handle the new rules.

According to Reuters, Chinese president Xi Jinping is expected to visit Washington in a few weeks and there is potential that this change will cause friction between China and the US. The plan is to consult Microsoft, IBM and Cisco Systems representatives before a new set of bank procurement rules are implemented, as was discussed by China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) officials.

This is a vast difference to prior regulations which US and European governments protested against, where Chinese banks were obligated to purchase more domestic IT equipment and for Western tech vendors to reveal secret source codes, according to Reuters.

Nevertheless, little information was provided by officials who were present at the CBRC meeting, but one mentioned that the outlook was questionable. “Their attitude and approach were good, but there’s not much optimism. What matters is how the sales numbers look,” the meeting attendee said to Reuters.

In fear of being spied on by the US National Security Agency, China has progressed cyber security measures recently, which has been deemed sensible by those in government due to cases of Chinese manufacturers being banned from the US, like Huawei and ZTE.

Historically Chinese regulations have been criticised by Europe and the US, as foreign products are excluded and this is in violation of rules that China is encouraged to comply with as a member of the World Trade Organisation.

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