Obama Pressed To Negotiate Cybersecurity Rules With Jinping

With Chinese President Xi Jinping set to arrive in the US for a meeting in Washington next month, US businesses are working to get their issues in front of President Obama. Multi-national companies based in the US have long criticized China for its anti-competition laws and currency manipulation, but the nation's new cybersecurity policies have taken top priority for many firms. Multi-national companies from several sectors in the US are hoping that the President will talk Jinping into revising the nation's latest cybersecurity regulations, which they claim have been designed to suppress foreign competition.

In the name of privacy and national security, China has

which have the potential to disrupt foreign firms operating there. The rules include mandatory third-party audits and require firms to give up their encryption keys to regulators. Even more concerning are laws which restrict the flow of data in and out of China, which would disrupt the operations of multinational firms which need to keep their international businesses connected.

On Tuesday, 19 American business and technology groups

to Obama asking him to discuss these measures with Jinping and persuade his Chinese counterpart to revise them. The proposed regulations have been criticized by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, which pointed out that they have the potential to undermine global trade.