Report warns against Chinese companies' reliance on foreign technology

China’s major enterprises of industrial systems are relying heavily on foreign technology, warned the latest report released on Sunday by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

The report was based on investigations between August and October to assess the Cybersecurity Law, which took effect on June 1, as well as a decision on the protection of online information introduced five years ago.

Cybersecurity should be given more focus.

According to the report, localization rates for industrial control enterprises in certain provinces have fallen below 20 percent, which means that the majority of their technology such as production control systems and cyberspace security equipment are developed and controlled by foreign companies. Worse yet, the report added, some Chinese staff members have no official certification for using the equipment and technology.

Wang Shengjun, the vice chairman of the NPC's standing committee, said that “the localization rate of equipment and control systems in major industrial companies should be increased.”

Cybersecurity should be given more focus.

He proposed that in order to improve the control of Chinese companies over key sectors and reduce their reliance on foreign technology, efforts for technology research and development should be intensified at a gradual pace. Meanwhile, China aims to set up an independently controllable technology system to ensure cyberspace security by 2020, said Wang.

At present, the government has initiated several projects to improve cyberspace security from 2016 to 2020 and has also planned to inject research funds of about 1.38 billion yuan (about 210 million US dollars).

(GLOBAL TIMES)