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In a letter sent to officials including
Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Trade Representative
Michael Froman on Feb. 4, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 16
other U.S. business lobbies said the new rules raised questions
about China's international trade commitments.
"(We) request your immediate action to work with Chinese
officials to reverse an alarming number of troubling, new
Chinese government policies impacting the information and
communications technology (ICT) sector," said the letter, first
reported in the Wall Street Journal.
Cybersecurity has been a significant irritant in U.S.-China
ties, with both sides accusing the other of abuses. U.S. tech
groups wrote to the Chinese administration about the same
policies on Jan. 28.
New cybersecurity regulations would force technology vendors to
Chinese banks to hand over secret source code and adopt Chinese
encryption algorithms.
The policies would have a "significant negative impact" on U.S.
ICT companies’ market opportunities in China and ultimately
crimp investment in research and development back home, hurting
U.S. jobs, the groups said.
U.S. manufacturers would also suffer as the policies would
restrict cross-border data flows and create another market
barrier for foreign financial services and telecommunications
companies said the letter, which was also signed by the National
Association of Manufacturers.
American companies have enjoyed huge market opportunities in
China, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, said in
Beijing on Friday.
"We will continue to guarantee the legal rights of foreign
enterprises in China, and welcome them to continue to break new
ground in China's market and jointly research and produce with
Chinese firms," Hong told a regular news briefing.
(Reporting by Krista Hughes; Additional reporting by Michael
Martina in BEIJING; Editing by Bernard Orr and Clarence
Fernandez)
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