China slams US ‘bullying’ of tech firms, unveils data security initiative
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemns ‘global hunting’ of other countries’ companies after US expands its Clean Network programme
- Chinese initiative opposes use of IT to steal data, mass surveillance against other states and installing ‘back doors’ in devices
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a forum on global data governance in Beijing on Tuesday that data security should not be politicised or subject to double standards.
“The unilateralism practised by certain countries in the name of cleanliness, and the global hunting of the leading enterprises of other countries on the pretext of security, are blatant acts of bullying that should be opposed and rejected,” Wang said.
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Outlining China’s Initiative on Global Data Security, Wang said countries should oppose the use of information technology to damage other countries’ critical infrastructure or steal important data, should not abuse IT to conduct mass surveillance against other states, and should not force companies to store data generated overseas in their home countries.