China's Xi Calls For 'Solid' Internet Security Barrier To Safeguard Data, Party Control Over Cyberspace

Over the last decade, President Xi has consistently prioritised security across multiple domains, including politics, the economy, the environment, and cyberspace.

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasised the importance of a 'solid' security barrier surrounding China's internet, emphasising the importance of safeguarding online data and information under the control of the ruling Communist Party. According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, in his instructions to officials attending a two-day cybersecurity meeting that concluded on Saturday, Xi emphasised the importance of managing and operating the internet in accordance with the law, underscoring the Party's role in ensuring that the internet serves the interests of the people.

"We must adhere to the Party's internet management and (the principle of) making the internet work for the people," Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

President Xi has consistently prioritised security across multiple domains, including politics, the economy, the environment, and cyberspace, over the last decade, the news agency reported. China enacted a national security law with a broader scope that included cyberspace in 2015. This was followed by the passage of a law in 2016 that imposed security review requirements and required data storage on Chinese servers, the report said. 

According to the report, China introduced regulations focusing on critical information infrastructure in 2021, strengthening its cybersecurity framework even further. Notably, lawmakers updated anti-espionage legislation this year to prohibit the transfer of sensitive national security information and broadened the definition of espionage.

Companies face inherent risks while navigating China's complex web of rules and laws governing online data and information. According to sources cited by the Financial Times, police visited the Shanghai office of US consulting firm Bain & Co in April, questioning employees and confiscating computers and phones. Wind Information Co, China's leading financial data provider, was ordered by regulators last year to stop providing certain data to offshore users, it said. 

The cybersecurity investigation launched in 2021 into Didi Global, a prominent ride-hailing giant, just two days after its initial public offering in the United States, demonstrates that the scrutiny extends beyond domestic companies, according to the report. The increased regulatory oversight reflects China's ongoing commitment to improving cybersecurity and protecting its internet landscape.