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Financial lobby group ASIFMA urges China to issue clear rules on cross-border data sharing as current requirements ‘very painful’

  • ASIFMA calls for clearer, tailor-made rules to enable cross-border sharing of data in the financial sector
  • Foreign firms move to cut risk in China following a crackdown on sharing of sensitive information as Beijing focuses on national security amid rising US-China tensions

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China has tightened rules on data sharing amid rising tensions with the US. Photo: Shutterstock
China should allow cross-border sharing of information by financial firms operating in the country, a leading financial lobby group said, as authorities tighten control of data generated within its borders in a national security drive.
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Last July, China unveiled cross-border data review measures that require a security review for “important” offshore data transfers – a move that triggered confusion and concern among foreign financial firms operating in the country.

Foreign interest could be curbed if the country’s data regulations remain vague or stringent, even as China continues to open up its capital markets, said Alice Law, CEO of the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA).

“You try to create a firewall, and then your own market becomes a data island itself,” she said, adding foreign firms could go elsewhere or diversify away from China. “Global markets should be interoperable and be able to talk to each other.”

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ASIFMA, which represents global banks and asset managers, in a report on China’s capital markets on Tuesday called for clearer, tailor-made rules to enable cross-border sharing of data in the financial sector.
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Some firms are scrambling to reduce risk in China following a crackdown on sharing of sensitive information, which ensnared a few foreign consultancies in recent months, with Beijing focusing on national security amid escalating US-China rivalry.

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