China proposes universally-accepted global data security rules: FM

China calls on countries worldwide to jointly forge universally-accepted global data security rules, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Friday.

Wang made the remarks when answering questions about China's "Global Initiative on Data Security" during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Noting that the China-proposed initiative has drawn attention from across the world, Wang said that many countries have described the initiative as constructive and said they will carefully study it.

It is widely believed that the initiative does not evade problems, directly responds to the common concerns of the international community, and puts forward solutions to major data security issues of common concern to all parties, Wang said.

He added that Russia attaches importance to China's initiative and welcomes China's efforts to strengthen global data security.

In fact, China and Russia have been engaged in multilateral and bilateral cooperation to safeguard data and cyber security, and this cooperation will continue, Wang said.

He noted that at an annual China-ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) foreign ministers' meeting two days earlier, Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said on behalf of ASEAN that China's proposal reflects the common concerns of countries worldwide and that ASEAN countries attach great importance to it and are ready to work with China to strengthen cooperation on global digital governance and cyber security.

"We believe that with the passage of time, this initiative will definitely be recognized and supported by more and more countries," Wang stressed, adding that China is ready to work with all countries holding the same or similar positions to push forward this process.

Noting that there are some speculations on the initiative, Wang emphasized that China does not merely focus on proving its innocence and honesty on data security, but considers more on how to effectively safeguard global data and cyber security, to truly stop the behavior of exploiting cyber technology to arbitrarily monitor other countries, or even to infringe on the privacy of personal information.

"China's purpose is crystal clear, that is, to call on all countries to join hands to create universally-accepted global data security rules, to forge a peaceful, safe, open and cooperative cyberspace, to promote the healthy development of digital economy, and to contribute to the progress of human society," Wang said.