A Chinese flag flies atop the Great Hall of the People ahead of the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum (BRF), marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, in Beijing, China on October 18, 2023.
Edgar Su | Reuters
BEIJING – China is strengthening national security measures by expanding its protection of state secrets to include a broad category of “work secrets.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an order on Tuesday to formally adopt revisions to a law on “guarding state secrets,” according to state media, which reported that lawmakers passed the updated law at a meeting earlier that day.
The new rules, which come into effect on May 1, detail how state secrets safeguards should also apply to unclassified information known as work secrets. The law broadly defines work secrets as information that would result in an “adverse impact” if leaked, and the specific measures listed would be released separately.
That work secrets article is “the most problematic,” said Jeremy Daum, a senior fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center.
“There is a risk that individual departments will overzealously identify matters as 'work secrets,'” Daum said. He also founded the website China Law Translate, which published an unofficial English translation of the new rules.
“This limits the public's right to know and also exposes people to potential liability.”
For foreign companies, the lack of clarity will remain an unquantified risk to doing business in China.
Jeremy Daum
Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School
Although China regularly releases a certain amount of information about government plans and economic data, the country is often considered more opaque compared to many developed countries.
For example, high-ranking officials in China have disappeared from public view without formal explanation. Policies, even policies that support companies, do not always have specific implementation dates.
Last year, China's new espionage and foreign policy laws included broad terms such as “state secrets,” which were left open to interpretation by authorities. Separate rules on what types of data foreign companies in China can send out of the country have yet to provide formal clarity on what qualifies as “important data” and is therefore subject to export restrictions.
“For foreign companies, the lack of clarity will remain an unquantified risk to doing business in China,” Daum said.
“The addition of work secrets and the mention of information that only becomes classified after it is merged with other information all create fear that one might inadvertently compromise classified information,” he said.
“In practice, however, the protection of state secrets has been extended to seemingly innocent situations, and foreign companies are still active.”
Increasing concerns about national security
The updated state secrets law comes as Beijing and Washington increasingly cite national security risks in announcing new restrictions on business.
“The new law will add to the general feeling among the foreign business community that Chinese leaders' preoccupation with national security has made the country's operating environment more difficult,” said Gabriel Wildau, director of consultancy Teneo.
“China's economic growth prospects remain the most important factor influencing foreign investment decisions, but the secret law adds another disincentive,” he said.
The rules label state secrets as information that, if leaked, could “harm China's security and interests in politics, economy, national defense, foreign affairs, technology and other fields,” according to China Law Translate.
The law also maintained restrictions on travel abroad by people currently or recently working with state secrets.
“I don't know if the revisions will meaningfully expand their coverage, but the holistic view of national security, a theme running through this law and other recent security bills, has generally created some barriers to travel,” Daum said.
“A document on counterintelligence precautions released a few years ago required a wide range of individuals traveling in their professional capacities to receive security briefings before departure.”
The final version of 'Guarding State Secrets' has been the subject of discussion within the government for months.
The revised law provides a “strong legal guarantee for better protection of national sovereignty, security and development interests,” Li Zhaozong, director of the Central Security Office and the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets, wrote on Wednesday in an article published by People's Daily. , the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. This is evident from a translation from CNBC.
Li noted the importance of disclosing information that should be made public, while ensuring confidentiality where necessary. The article made no mention of work secrets.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China adopted the final version of the updated State Secrets Law after considering a series of revisions in October. The law was initially passed in 1988.
Daum pointed out that many of the changes in the new rules are “updates for new technology and style changes.”
“The law provides clarity in a few areas, limits the liability of leaders in some cases and provides compensation for individuals whose rights are limited due to confidentiality requirements,” he added.
The National People's Congress will kick off its annual meeting next week, where the country's top leaders will announce their economic plans and prospects and outline key policies.