The new law is banning the transfer of any information related to national security and broadening the definition of spying. It, however, does not define what falls under China’s national security or interests.
Relevance for PGM industry
Under the terms of this sweeping new law, all investigation activity and data gathering in China — printed, electronic or oral — can be effectively outlawed as “espionage.”
It allows authorities to gain access to data, electronic equipment, information on personal property and also to ban border crossings while carrying out an anti-espionage investigation.
The US Chamber of Commerce in Beijing is concerned about the law’s impact on ‘investor confidence’, saying it could potentially make routine business tasks like due diligence illegal.
Find possible real-life examples further down, copied from attached report by law firm Morgan Lewis.
Against the backdrop of increasingly tense China-US relations and a growing number of cases involving suspected espionage activities, multinational enterprises outside China (foreign enterprises) should pay particular attention to related compliance risks.
Human right activists noted that the law, in practice, would lead to a further clampdown on dissidents, activists and civil society groups.