As tensions between the US and China escalate over data security issues, Beijing has taken a proactive step to unveil a "data security initiative" it believes could serve as a "global standard for data security" .
Chinese state councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi, who appeared in a video during a closed-door meeting in Beijing on Tuesday, announced the eight-part framework which touches on controversial topics such as Beijing's handling of user data.
Under the rules established by the initiative, Beijing will not ask Chinese companies to transfer data overseas to the government in violation of the laws of other countries. China also calls on states to oppose mass surveillance against other states and calls on companies to refrain from installing backdoors into their products and services for illegal data collection.
The timing of the announcement is curious, a few days before the TikTok sale ends. Washington said the popular video app poses a national security threat to the United States because it could hand over US user data to Beijing, a claim TikTok denied. Last week, China changed an export law that could complicate the sale of TikTok.
The US authority has also insisted for years on its rhetoric that Huawei inserts spyware into its telecommunications equipment, although Washington has not presented direct public evidence to support the claim.
While some may dispute the concepts proposed by Beijing's new data security standard, one thing is certain: China continues to push the notion of cyber sovereignty, which has manifested itself in the Great Firewall and data location rules.
Chinese and foreign officials, as well as think tanks and company representatives were present at the meeting on Tuesday and expected to offer suggestions on the initiative. said the Global Times, the official Chinese Communist Party newspaper.
In his speech, Zhang launched an attack on the Trump administration's "Clean Network" program that could wipe out a number of Chinese technology companies from the United States or prevent them from doing business with American companies.
"A certain country continues to throw unfounded accusations against others in the name of a 'clean' network and uses security as a pretext to rob companies from other countries that have a competitive advantage. Such blatant bullying must be thwarted and rejected, "the official said without naming the country, although there was no ambiguity in his description.