China's Foreign Ministry urged the U.S. to stop slandering and smearing China on data security, and maintain an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment, spokesperson Mao Ning told a press conference on Thursday.
Mao's remarks came after the Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled an executive order barring genomic data transfers to China, Reuters reported, claiming that the U.S. is seeking to protect American personal data over so-called national security concerns.
The order will curb bulk transfers of Americans' geo-location, biometric, health and financial information to specific "countries of concern."
This is the first time the U.S. has taken such measures, and the U.S. executive order is also seen as the latest escalation of the "digital cold war" between the two countries.
In response, Mao noted that the U.S. has generalized the concept of national security by falsely claiming that China is purchasing sensitive data of U.S. citizens and engaging in malicious activities. "Banning the flow of data to the so-called countries of concern, including China, is a discriminatory practice clearly targeting a specific country, which China firmly opposes," she said.
The Chinese government has always placed great importance on the protection of data privacy and security, and has never, and will never, ask its enterprises or individuals to collect or provide data information and intelligence located in foreign countries for the Chinese government in a manner that violates local laws, Mao said.
China has taken the lead in proposing a global data security initiative, and if the U.S. is truly concerned about data security, it could publicly support China's initiative or make a similar commitment, she noted.
"We asked the U.S. to stop slandering and smearing China, effectively maintain an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment and work with all parties to formulate universal data security rules, in order to promote the orderly and free flow of global data," said Mao.
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