Mao Ning, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that China firmly rejects the baseless accusation made by the United States that China acquires personal and sensitive data from the US for malicious activities, while urging the US to work with other countries to establish universal data security rules to facilitate regular and free data flow worldwide.
It has been reported that US President Joe Biden will sign an executive order aimed at blocking foreign entities’ access to US-owned personal data sources due to concerns about commercial and military advantages they could exploit. Mao, speaking at Thursday’s regular press briefing, criticized the US for excessively broadening the concept of national security, accusing China of purchasing personal and sensitive data from the US for malicious activities and obstructing data transfers to so-called “countries of concern,” including China. The spokesperson stated, “These are clearly discriminatory practices targeting certain countries. China firmly opposes such measures.” Mao emphasized, “The Chinese government takes data privacy and security very seriously. We neither want nor allow any company or individual abroad to collect or provide data, information, or intelligence illegally in violation of local laws.” Reminding of China’s Global Data Security Initiative, Mao suggested that if the US genuinely cares about data security, it could publicly support this initiative or make similar commitments. Mao said, “We urge the US to stop smearing and discrediting China, effectively uphold a fair, open, and non-discriminatory business environment, and work with other countries to establish universal data security rules to enable regular and free data flow worldwide.”