The Week - UK (2021-02-13)

automaticallyprotected unless they are

registered in Chinafirst.For adviceon

this,two good placestostart are

industry bodies techUK andthe China-

BritainBusinessCouncil (CBBC) –both

work with arange of experiencedlegal

advisors andexpertstohelpcompanies

navigate therisks andchallengesof

doing business in China.

UK support

ForBriti sh tech companieswithglobal

ambitions,China is aregion full of

opportunity.Tounlockit, though,due

diligence is required andacertaintythat

anyventure hasbeenthoroughly-planned

andthoughtout.Managingcybersecurity

anddata issues arechallenging enough

on homesoil;doing it overseas even more

so.Fortunately,bodies likethe CBBC

(cbbc.org)and techUK (techuk.org), and

theUKgovernment’sDepartment for

International Trade(DIT) offer businesses

adviceand guidance on protecting

themselvesand findingwaystobreak into

theChinese market.

To read an expanded versionof this

article,visitchina.theweek.co.uk

C

hina hasfirmlyestablished
itselfasaglobalsuperpower,
growingits GDPtobecome
thesecond-largest economy
in theworld behind the
USA. Chinaisaterritory
that holds significan tpotentialfor UK
businesses,particularly thosecompanies
in thetechsectorwhere Chinaishungry
to embrace innovation. ButbeforeaUK
tech companydecides to setupinChina
or enters into apartn ership with a
Chinese organisation,it’svital to weigh
up therisks andchallengesfromadata
protection andcybersecurity perspective.

Navigating cybersecurity
The ChineseCybersecurity Lawgoverns
cybersecurity anddata in Chinaand will
shapehow an organisation operates
within theChinese market.The law,
establishedin2017, hasfirmrules about
thecollection,use andtransferof
personal data.For example, anydata
hostedinChina that contains person al
information onChinesecitizens, or data
that’s deemed sens itive, cannot leavethe
country without governmentapproval.
If your business violates the
CybersecurityLaw,penalties may
include finesorconfiscation of
equipment. It could also result in an ICP
(Internet ContentProvider) licenc ebeing
revokedand itsasso ciated websitebeing
blocked. An ICPlicence is required by

Broughttoy ou by

everywebsite in Chinaand re-obtaini ng

onecan provedifficult andtime-

consuming. If you’re conc ernedabout

compliance then ,fortunately,helpisat

hand.The UK government’sDigit al and

Tech China(gov.uk/ digitalandtechchina)

websiteisadedicatedresource to help

answertechbusinesses’questionsabout

doing business with China. Thesite also

includesspecific guidance around

cybersecurity lawinthe region.

Privacyand data protection

An awareness of China’sNational

Intelligence Lawisalsoamustfor UK

tech businesses.Thislaw requires all

organisations andcitizenstocoope rate

with stateintelligence agencies on

request, andevenguardthe secrec yof

anyintelligence they becomeaware of.

This could mean that anydata your

companyholds in mainlandChina may

have to be handed over to theChinese

government, regardlessofwhich country

that data came from.

These data rules maycause some

technologyfirms to be anxious about

whethe rtheir IP couldbeexposedwhen

operatinginChina,however thereare

specific la ws such as thePatentLaw and

TrademarkLaw to helpprotect

intellec tual property. China, likemany

markets,has afirst-to-file trademark

registration system,meaning

international trademarks arenot

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Understanding

cybersecurity and

data protection

in China

Before aUKcompany sets up in China,

it’skey to weigh up the cybersecurity

risks–for this, early research and

expert advice are both vital