China seeks greater role in setting international rules for digital economy
- Foreign vice-minister Xie Feng criticises US efforts to use global legal framework to contain China as he signals Beijing’s desire to set standards
- The country has become a major player in the sphere, but strict data transfer rules and concerns over intellectual property have been criticised in the West
China has said it wants a greater role in setting the rules for the international digital economy and criticised the United States for trying to use the international order to contain it.
On Friday, foreign vice-minister Xie Feng told a forum on international laws in Beijing: “China is willing to work with all parties to explore the development of high-standard digital economic and trade rules, implementing green, low-carbon and sustainable development [standards] … so as to inject new energy into international economic and trade rules.”
Without naming the US, Xie told the meeting of officials and legal scholars that “certain countries” had tried to bully others by forcing their own “family law and gang rules” onto others in the name of “advocating a rules-based international order”.
“Certain countries ignore the basic principles of international law … and put their domestic laws above international treaties and agreements, abuse ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ and unilateral sanctions, and use or threaten to use force at every turn, which has seriously undermined the sovereignty, security and development interests of other countries,” Xie said, according to a transcript published on the website of Chinese foreign ministry.
Earlier, Wang Chen, vice-chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said in an opening speech that Beijing would continue to push forward the Belt and Road Initiative, an international infrastructure and investment programme.
However, he said further efforts were needed in “international rules-setting in emerging areas such as the digital economy and encouraging the use of safe and secure digital means to promote cross-border trade facilitation”.