Serving the People: China's cybersecurity policy and its implications

This chapter reviews the context that spurred the development of China's cybersecurity policy and observes the impact and meaning of such government policies, institutions, and legal norms. In addition, it also discusses the implications of China's cybersecurity policy for international relations. To understand China’s cybersecurity policy, it is important to first examine the history of internet usage in China. Beijing views the development of the internet as a process in the evolution from an industrial society to an information society, or a process of “informatization”. Over the years, Beijing has established laws, regulations, and institutions aimed at increasing the state’s ability to monitor internet speech and prevent threats to the CCP. At the same time, institutions were established to realize the rule by law while cybersecurity laws were established to serve as non-tariff barriers against trade opponents. The authors survey the development of China’s cybersecurity policies, including regulations, legal governance, and new cyber legislation.