China’s “uniquely restrictive” data laws risk boosting US firms’ cost of doing business in the No. 2 economy and could lead to digital decoupling, a new report from a US business group said yesterday.
The Chinese government’s curbs on data movement across borders, ambiguous regulation and inconsistent enforcement “are particularly challenging for multinational firms,” said the US-China Business Council, which describes itself as a private organization of more than 260 US companies operating in the Asian nation.
“If the policies are implemented rigidly, a possible outcome is the creation of data islands that force companies to localize technology, people and processes, disconnecting them from global operations,” the business group said in a report that was based on discussions with more than 30 US companies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government has introduced a raft of data, privacy and cybersecurity regulations over the past five years, citing the need to better protect personal information and improve national security. The government also wants to build digital infrastructure and data centers across China with the goal of creating a market for data that propel economic growth.
The strategy is also politically driven, with Xi last year saying he intended to pursue “platform” companies that amass data to create monopolies.
The government later hit Alibaba Group Holding with a record US$2.8 billion fine for abuse of market dominance and told other top Internet companies to rectify anti-competitive practices.
The moves have also rattled investors.
Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co last month called the Chinese Internet sector “uninvestable,” partly due to regulatory worries.
“Like most governments, Beijing is still figuring out how to thread the needle between protecting data security and enabling cross-border data trade,” said Kendra Schaefer, head of digital research at Trivium China, a consultancy in Beijing.
“It’s uncertain how rigidly existing rules will be enforced, and to what extent they will be adjusted over the long term in response to complaints by foreign businesses,” Schaefer said.
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
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Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
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