In the news: Business groups call for Cybersecurity Law revision, the State Council approves the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the IMF warns China of debt and structural issues

Security laws face backlash from global groups

An alliance  of international business coalitions have called on China to revise the new Cybersecurity Law and insurance regulations, warning they represent a protectionist threat to growth that isolates China from the global digital economy. The move came in the form of a letter to Premier Li Keqiang signed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, BusinessEurope and Japan's Keidanren, as well as industry groups representing the financial services, technology and manufacturing industries and national lobbies including those from Australia, Mexico and Switzerland. Their concerns focus on provisions that force foreign companies to store data in China, assist law enforcement investigations and subject IT products to security reviews. While the second draft of the Cybersecurity Law makes certain improvements, it remains relatively vague, still leaving companies and lawyers wondering what the “security assessments” for data transfers entail and how broadly “critical information infrastructure” will be interpreted. Many groups have been lobbying for clarification—and relaxation—but they are unlikely to succeed in persuading the government to diminish any room for discretion when it comes to safeguarding information and national network security. In our latest article on foreign investors' regulatory obligations for working with big data and hosting servers in China, one lawyer said that “there is no trend indicating that [national and cybersecurity reviews/requirements] will be lifted anytime soon,” while another noted “it's still a very tough market for MNCs.”

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