SITC Bulletin, November 8, 2016

China News Digest for November 2-7, 2016

China's new cybersecurity law rattles foreign tech firms

China's government has approved a broad new cybersecurity law aimed at tightening and centralizing state control over information flows and technology equipment, raising concerns among foreign companies operating in the country. The law, passed by the standing committee of China's rubber-stamp parliament and made public on Monday, says agencies and enterprises must improve their ability to defend against network intrusions while demanding security reviews for equipment and data in strategic sectors. The law also makes censorship a matter of cybersecurity, threatening to punish companies that allow unapproved information to circulate online.

The Wall Street Journal

China's most powerful rocket lifts off from island launch centre

The CZ-5 can lift 25 tons of cargo into lower earth orbit, similar to the performance of the Delta IV Heavy, the most powerful launch vehicle in the US space fleet. The arrival of the CZ-5 means the gap between China and the US in space has narrowed from decades to years and the game will change profoundly from now on, according to several space analysts. The rocket and later versions boosted by even more powerful engines will allow China to match the US in operating large-scale, high performance spy satellites and global military communication satellites, as well as attempting to put up a full-sized space station, land humans on the moon or send robotic rovers to Mars.

South China Morning Post