"US Tech Firms Protest Beijing Security Rules", 9 Feb 2015

…[The latest] trend is seeing China launch new initiatives aimed at protecting its national interests…Chinese regulators are often also quick to implement new instructions from Beijing, and craft plans without thorough reviews and consideration…

…Beijing…reacted [to the Edward Snowden scandal] by assuming that foreign tech companies work hand-in-hand with their local governments...the US…government made similar assumptions…ban[ning] the import of all Chinese telecoms networking equipment from major exporters Huawei and ZTE in 2013. China has imposed several smaller but similar restrictions on foreign tech equipment sellers over the last 2 years. But the move gained momentum last month when Beijing said all foreign firms that sold networking equipment to Chinese banks would have to make their products available for government audits, and also give their source code to Beijing.

American firms…formally issu[ed] a protest letter through the US Chamber of Commerce last week, calling the new rules “intrusive”, and calling China’s approach to cybersecurity “opaque” and “discriminatory”…China responded…that it would “protect the legitimate interests of foreign companies in accordance with the law”…