China Counters US Data Security Effort With Its Own

China launched an effort to help bolster data security on Tuesday amid questions from the United States and other Western nations about whether it is doing enough to keep data safe.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced the program at a global digital governance event in Beijing.

As the U.S. pursues its own data security efforts aimed at China, Wang said "it is important to develop a set of international rules on data security that reflect the will and respect the interests of all countries."

China has labeled its new program the "Global Initiative on Data Security," and it stipulates that countries tackle the issue of data security in a "comprehensive, objective and evidence-based manner." It also calls on nations to respect how other countries handle consumers' data.

The U.S. and other countries have accused China of illegally accessing data through apps such as TikTok, hardware related to cellular networks, and more. China has pushed back on those claims.

Wang said of the U.S., "Bent on unilateral acts, a certain country keeps making groundless accusations against others in the name of 'clean' network and used security as a pretext to prey on enterprises of other countries who have a competitive edge. Such blatant acts of bullying must be opposed and rejected."

Parts of the Chinese program echo what the U.S. has asked China to do, such as not installing backdoor access to IT products that would allow governments to obtain user data.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has continually warned against China's actions in the IT space. Last month, for example, he signed a joint declaration with Slovenia on "5G Clean Network Security" that is designed to keep untrusted communications vendors — including China's Huawei — out of the central European country.

The Trump administration has said it does not trust TikTok, a social media network that allows users to post videos, and has ordered its parent company to sell its U.S. arm or risk being banned in the States.

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