China reaffirmed its commitment to protect the legitimate interests of foreign businesses after U.S. business lobbies called for a set of new Chinese cybersecurity regulations to be overturned.

"The Chinese government will protect the legitimate interests of foreign companies in accordance with law," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said at a daily press briefing on Friday.

The new regulations would require technology vendors working with Chinese banks to hand over source code and adopt Chinese encryption algorithms, according to reports.

Hong's comments came days after the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 16 other U.S. business lobbies, via letters, called on the White House to overturn new Chinese cybersecurity regulations. The letters were sent to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and other officials.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson stressed China's adherence to the win-win strategy of opening up, saying the strategy has resulted in the wide application of information and communication technology (ICT) and promoted economic and social development in the country.

"That also creates a huge market for the companies from the United States and other countries," Hong said.

"China welcomes and supports foreign companies expanding their market shares in China," Hong said, calling on them to jointly research and produce with Chinese firms.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)