China's Internet regulating system is a "trade barrier," claims the USTR. (Photo : Getty Images)
China’s Internet regulating body contradicts the United States’ statement that listed the Asian nation’s infamous Great Firewall as a "trade barrier."
According to the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), China's online censorship system was put there to uphold national security and not to discriminate any foreign businesses.
"The aim of the Internet security inspection system is to guarantee the security and controllability of information technology products and services, safeguard user information security, and strengthen market and user confidence," CAC told Reuters via fax on Friday.
According to the Economic Times, this was in response to the annual report of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) which states how China's Great Firewall presented "a significant burden to foreign suppliers, hurting both Internet sites themselves and users who often depend on them for business."
The New York Times reported about the USTR report Thursday last week, explaining that it signifies the U.S. government's concern on the expanding control of the government over its subjects.
Aside from that, the outlet also believes that the statement from the U.S. trade bureau "underscores the opposing visions [of] the world's two largest economies" in terms on censorship and people's freedom to use the Internet.
According to the report, unprecedented blocking of websites has worsened over the past year and noted that even eight out of the 25 most globally popular sites have been blocked from being accessed in China.
"Much of the blocking appears arbitrary; for example, a major home improvement site in the United States, which would appear wholly innocuous, is typical of sites likely swept up by the Great Firewall," the report explained.
Just this month, the Economist and Time were found to be blocked in China by the webpage tracker GreatFire.org after the media outlets featured strong commentaries about Chinese President Xi Jinping.
However, the CAC denies to have done anything that violates the country's trade commitments, emphasizing that China "scrupulously abides" by the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as it "protects foreign enterprises' lawful interests according to law, and creates a fair market environment for them."
