China has legitimate cyber security interests due to threats on its borders, which has led it to tighten controls over information coming into the country. However, this creates a puzzle for China - how can it continue developing internationally while protecting its security and political system? The system is still being refined, as China's citizens can travel globally but not access certain websites from within China. The document argues that AmCham China should work to distinguish between business and political/military concerns, offer ideas to convince officials that open business communications don't threaten China, and deploy sales techniques to sell officials on projects that benefit both foreign businesses and China.

1. TECH
In cyber terms,
China today is
wrestling with
a puzzle.
T
he starting point for any
discussion about China’s
elaborate Internet regulato-
ry and management infrastructure
is to acknowledge that China has
legitimate cyber security interests.
It’s the only realistic premise for
a conversation about the blocked
websites, slow Internet speeds and
interrupted VPNs that make living
and working here difficult.
The Chinese government, like
all governments, regards many
of the discussions that take place
online as dangerous. Cyberspace
isn’t always just a neutral platform
for the congenial sharing of ideas,
or a nice place for cheap Skype
calls. Banks and businesses are
defrauded, people are stalked and
killed, and other complex criminal
plans are hatched every day on the
Internet. Nations will react to this
according to their history – be-
cause that’s what they know.
The US, for example, tries to
control the negative aspects of
the Internet through semi-open
discussions, legislation and asking
high-tech corporations to limit
encryption for the sake of US
security interests. But as a Chinese
official in Shanghai once said to
me, as an American, “You have a
good piece of land,” meaning that
historically the geography of the
US has kept Americans secure.
Many countries are less fortunate,
including China, which has always
had potential enemies on its bor-
ders. This fundamental reality of
China’s national security unsur-
prisingly translates into “cyber
sovereignty” and tighter controls
over information coming in.
But national security can be
measured in many ways. In cyber
terms, China today is wrestling
with a puzzle – how can the coun-
try continue to develop as an in-
ternational power while protecting
its security and political system?
The puzzle is exemplified by the
fact that China’s citizens can’t get
on Facebook, but they are permit-
ted to fly off to destinations across
the globe to shop, study and meet
people. Presumably, during these
journeys they can access whatever
information they please, download
whatever they want, see whomever
they like and return un-accosted
at the airport to continue life in
China. The system isn’t a closed
loop. It is still being refined.
AmCham China’s goal in ad-
dressing cybersecurity should be
to explore what parts of the Inter-
net could be more open than they
are, find ways to give its members
more space to communicate
internationally, and ameliorate the
most onerous aspects of policy on
business communications. How
do we do this?
First, we should try to
distinguish between business
communications and political or
military concerns. A starting point
could be to cooperate with China’s
multinationals and government
agencies focusing on international
development to determine where
security sensitivities are less con-
cerning, and concentrate negotia-
tion efforts there.
To do this, we should under-
stand China’s cyber bureaucracy,
and identify where commerce
and politics intersect. All nations
have competing commercial and
social goals. How well do we
know the Chinese government’s
decision-making process when it
comes to cyber issues?
Second, AmCham China
should offer specific ideas for ad-
ministrative and technical controls
to convince senior officials that
open international business com-
munications are beneficial to Chi-
na, not a threat. This may mean
a certification regime for foreign
companies to assure Chinese
authorities that communications,
web research and access to ex-
ternal social networking sites are
used only for business purposes.
Third, we should deploy the
sales and negotiating techniques
used in the world’s most successful
companies. It mystifies me why
we are unable to sell China on
projects that would be both good
for foreign bussinesses and for
China. Is it that we don’t know our
customer well enough? Have we
been negligent, as any experienced
salesperson will understand, in
failing to “cover the bases”?
A Cyber Security
Façade
The Great Firewall isn’t
impenetrable, just burdensome to business
By Bob Fonow
Robert
Fonow is
the Managing
Director of
specialized
consulting firm
RGI Ltd. He
chairs AmCham
China’s
Information
and
Communication
Technology
Forum.
The views
expressed
here are his
own and do
not necessarily
reflect the
official policy
or position
of AmCham
China.
Business Now Magazine18
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