Mainland security checks on hi-tech systems could favour domestic suppliers
Little impact expected as analysts say it will take a while for mainland vetting process to be ready
Beijing's plan for more stringent checks of information-technology products and services is not expected to be implemented soon, but analysts see the potential of major government and business purchases favouring domestic suppliers.
The new procedures, announced on Thursday by the State Internet Information Office, are likely to put further strain on the relationship between China and the United States, days after Washington indicted five Chinese military officers for industrial cyber-theft.
State media said the vetting would bolster national security by preventing the use of high-technology products "to illegally control, disrupt or shut down their clients' systems, or to gather, store, process or use their clients' information".
Xinhua said products that failed the checks would be banned from the mainland.
There’s no need to panic because the procedures have not yet been executed
In separate statements to the South China Morning Post yesterday, global networking equipment market leader Cisco Systems and business software giant SAP said they expected the new vetting policy to have no impact on their mainland operations.
Analysts said time was on their side. "There's no need to panic because the [new] procedures have not yet been executed," said Charlie Dai, a principal consulting analyst at Forrester Research in Beijing.