China tightens control over company data with transfer rules

Beijing: Companies in China would need government approval to transfer important data abroad under proposed rules announced Friday that would tighten Beijing's control over information and might disrupt operations for international corporations.

The measure is needed to protect the Chinese public and safeguard national security, the Cyberspace Administration of China said. President Xi Jinping's government sees information about China's 1.4 billion people as a potential security risk in private hands.

It has issued a flurry of rules tightening control over how companies gather and handle information.

A crackdown on data security launched in late 2020 fueled anxiety among investors, who have knocked more than 1.3 trillion off the total market value of e-commerce platform Alibaba, games and social media operator Tencent and other tech giants.

Companies that want to transfer important data abroad would have to report on how much and what type of information is involved and security measures, according to the CAC.