China’s national parliament has passed a new law on cryptography aimed to facilitate development concurrently with the country’s central banking efforts to launch its own digital currency.
The newly adopted law, effective as of January 1, 2020, «was necessary for regulating the utilization and management of cryptography, facilitating the development of the cryptography business and ensuring the security of cyberspace and information», the National People’s Congress Constitution and Law Committee.
The new law distinguishes cryptography into three classifications: core, common and commercial. Core and common cryptography will be strictly managed by Chinese authorities and used to protect confidential national information.
If cryptography is deemed as commercial, which assumes no risk to state security or the public interest, cryptography management departments and other relevant personnel are unable to ask for disclosure of «exclusive information related to the cryptography such as source codes and must keep the business secrets and privacy they get in their duties strictly confidential.
The new law marks a further acceleration of China’s blockchain-related policy which is likely to pave the way to various initiatives including the nation’s efforts to launch its own digital currency which its central bank claims is almost ready.
The law was also enacted one day after President Xi Jinping called for more research and investments into blockchain technology, stressing competition from other major countries and the need for China to obtain first-mover to increase «influence and rule-making power in the global arena».