China vows to strengthen cybersecurity

Supervision and regulation in focus to better protect internet enterprises

China will continue strengthening the capacity building of its cybersecurity system, with a focus on the stronger protection of internet enterprises and more efforts to promote the sector's development, a senior official said on Friday.

"While ensuring the growth of the internet industry, we'll also focus more on supervision and regulation to guarantee economic and social interests at the same time,"Niu Yibing, spokesman of the Cyberspace Administration of China, said at a news conference.

He said that authorities will intensify the cybersecurity of internet enterprises, protecting the legitimate rights of those companies and entrepreneurs, and added that "our aim is to create a healthy, 'get-to-the-top', 'can-do' entrepreneurial atmosphere".

Recalling the optimized supervisory means and a series of rules made by the administration and related government agencies in recent years, Niu underlined that the measures not only draw a clear bottom line for internet enterprises to operate within the regulations, but also helped them eliminate lurking risks.

Over the past decade, the country has stepped up efforts and taken various measures to guarantee cybersecurity, "as there is no national security without online security, let alone stable socioeconomic growth and benefit to the people", he said.

So far, a cybersecurity system has been put in place nationwide, while the protection of key infrastructure in finance, energy, electricity, telecommunications and transportation has also been boosted, according to a statement by the administration.

Additionally, more than 100 laws and rules, including the Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law and Methods on Cybersecurity Review, have been promulgated, meaning that cyberspace governance by the rule of law has been accelerated and the punishment against those who harm or potentially harm the national security has become harsher, it said.

Under the Methods on Cybersecurity Review, for example, internet platform operators with the data of more than 1 million users must seek official clearance via a security review before being listed in overseas stock exchanges.

"We've always supported domestic enterprises to rationally utilize overseas capital markets for financing and development in line with rules and the law," Sun Wei--min, head of the administration's cybersecurity coordination bureau, told the media on Friday.

"China's determination of opening up at a higher level, sharing development opportunities with the world and making economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial will not change."

In regard to the fine of over 8 billion yuan ($1.19 billion) imposed on ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc last month, she said that it was the result of the implementation of the rules and laws with regard to data security, and that the next step "is to guide and urge the company to better rectify and eliminate hidden security risks".

"We'll safeguard national security, data security, social interests and people's legitimate rights by effectively dealing with irregularities and illegal behaviors in these sectors," she added.

In the past 10 years, China has seen a rapid growth of internet users. The number of internet users rose to 1.03 billion last year from 564 million in 2012, while the internet usage rate among the population increased to 73 percent from 42.1 percent during the same period, the statement said.

China has the world's largest and most advanced optical fiber broadband and mobile communications network, with 1.85 million 5G base stations, it added.