China seeks to reassure multinationals over anti-spying law

• China vowed clarity regarding its new, broader anti-espionage law to foreign multinationals on Friday, aiming to reassure businesses fearful of being accused of spying.
• “We will concentrate on increasing the transparency and predictability of policies by having regular exchanges with foreign companies,” a senior official at the Ministry of Commerce said at a briefing in Beijing.
• Leaders of chambers of commerce from Japan, the U.S., South Korea and the European Union attended the briefing. Tetsuro Homma, chairman of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China and executive vice president of Panasonic Holdings, was said to have taken part.
• According to sources, the U.S. side had urged Chinese officials to hold a briefing and exchange of opinions on the revised anti-espionage law, which was enacted on July 1 and vastly expands the scope of what China considers spy activity. It forbids transferring information that could be related to national security and interests, without defining those terms.

External Link : https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/China-seeks-to-reassure-multinationals-over-anti-spying-law