China's foreign ministry lashed out at a German ambassador
on Wednesday for claiming that Beijing failed to respond to requests to
discuss bilateral cyber security issues.
Ambassador
Michael Clauss recently told the South China Morning Post newspaper of
Hong Kong the two governments agreed in 2016 to set up a group to
discuss cyber issues but it “has yet to see the light of day.”
He
had said that requests for a “meaningful dialogue” about Chinese curbs
on virtual private networks (VPNs), which are used for encrypted
communication and can evade Beijing's web filters, have “regrettably not
yet received a positive response.”
But Chinese
ministry's Hua Chunying has hit out, saying: “The remarks by the
relevant ambassador are not constructive, and some of them are even
wrong."
Hua said Germany had been invited to send delegations for consultation but was reluctant to do so.
“Instead,
they accuse China of lacking sincerity for dialogue. It does not make
sense,” said Hua. “I hope the German Embassy and the people involved can
refrain from unprofessional and irresponsible remarks and do something
conducive to development of bilateral relationship and mutually
beneficial cooperation.”
It is almost unheard of for the
Chinese foreign ministry to criticise a foreign diplomat, but Clauss is
unusually forthright in talking publicly about import curbs, internet
controls and other sensitive issues.
In June, Clauss
called on communist authorities to release a detained bishop of the
underground Roman Catholic church. He expressed concern about proposed
changes in regulations on worship.
Chinese authorities
have banned use of unlicensed VPNs as part of a sweeping crackdown on
technology to evade controls aimed at preventing the public from seeing
material deemed subversive or obscene.
China has the
world's biggest population of internet users, with some 730 million
people online. Estimates of the number of scientists, business-people,
students and others who rely on VPNs for work and study run into the
tens of millions.
Foreign companies use VPNs to
communicate securely with their offices abroad and to see news and other
websites that are blocked by Chinese web filters.
Companies
already cite internet controls as among the biggest obstacles to doing
business in China. Some have expressed concern being required to use
only government-approved VPNs could weaken their security.
The
VPN crackdown coincides with a Cybersecurity Law that took effect on
June 1 and tightens control over data. It limits use of foreign security
technology and requires companies to store information about Chinese
citizens within this country.
Clauss's comments followed
a warning this month by the head of Germany's domestic intelligence
agency that Chinese intelligence was engaged in a “broad-based attempt
to infiltrate” its government.
The official said Chinese
agents used social networks to try to cultivate lawmakers and other
officials as sources and targeted more than 10,000 Germans.
In
the newspaper interview, Clauss said that issue could have been
discussed by the German-Chinese cyber group but it has never met.
