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Cybersecurity
TechPolicy

China to block ‘core’ industrial, telecoms data from leaving the country

  • The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has drafted new regulation to bar the transfer of crucial industrial and telecoms data outside China
  • The ministry is now soliciting public feedback on the proposed regulation until the end of October

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New regulation drafted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reflects Beijing’s policy objectives on improving the country’s data security and having greater control over the nation’s once freewheeling internet sector. Photo: Reuters
Xinmei Shen
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has drawn up new regulation that will prevent crucial industrial and telecommunications data from leaving the country, a move that could significantly impact how multinational corporations operate in the world’s second-largest economy.
The ministry is now soliciting public feedback until the end of October on the draft regulation, which was published on its website on Thursday, as part of Beijing’s efforts to articulate its new Data Security Law (DSL) into actionable guidelines.

All businesses that handle industrial and telecoms data in China are required to categorise such information into “ordinary”, “important” and “core”, and report their data catalogue to the MIIT’s local branches, according to the draft regulation. Sharing data categorised as “important” to a foreign party requires a special review and approval process, while all “core” industrial and telecoms data are barred from leaving China under any circumstance.

Industrial data refers to information gathered and produced in sectors that include raw materials, machinery, consumer goods, electronics manufacturing, and software and information technology, according to the draft regulation. Telecoms data includes information gathered and produced from the broad communications network market.

The definition of what is “important” and “core” data is subjective, according to the draft regulation.

The headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in Beijing. The agency is on the front line of China’s technology rivalry with the United States. Photo: Handout
The headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in Beijing. The agency is on the front line of China’s technology rivalry with the United States. Photo: Handout
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