White House raises concerns about China’s new cyber security law

(Reuters) – The White House said on Thursday that it raised concerns about China’s new cyber security law during a meeting with a Chinese official after the latest round of talks between the two countries on cyber crime.

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice met with Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun to discuss the importance “of fully adhering” to an anti-hacking accord signed last year between the China and the United States, National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said.

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The deal, brokered during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington in 2015, included a pledge that neither country would knowingly carry out hacking for commercial advantages.

Rice told Guo that the United States was concerned “about the potential impacts” of a law that China adopted in November aimed at combating hacking and terrorism.

Critics of the law say it threatens to shut foreign technology companies out of various sectors deemed “critical,” and includes contentious requirements for security reviews and for data to be stored on servers in China.

Rights advocates also say the law will enhance restrictions on China’s Internet, already subject to the world’s most sophisticated online censorship mechanism, known outside China as the Great Firewall.

Rice met with Guo after the third round of high level talks on cyber security between China and the United States was held on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Alistair Bell)