Chinese lawmakers passed a wide-ranging update to Beijing’s anti-espionage legislation on Wednesday, banning the transfer of any information related to national security and broadening the definition of spying.
China’s top legislative body passed the revised Counter-Espionage Law — its first update since 2014 — following three days of deliberations, and it will take effect from July 1, state media reported.
All “documents, data, materials, and items related to national security and interests” are under the same protection as state secrets following the revisions, according to the full text of the revised law published by Xinhua late Wednesday.
The law does not define what falls under China’s national security or interests.
It expands the definition of espionage to include cyber attacks against state organs or critical information infrastructure, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The revised law allows authorities carrying out an anti-espionage investigation to gain access to data, electronic equipment, information on personal property and also to ban border crossings. Cyberattacks are also classed as acts of espionage.
The revisions ”(adopt) both an expansive understanding of national security and emphasize the consideration of potential security risks in all areas.”
In recent years, China has detained dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage, such as an executive at Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma who was detained in Beijing last month. Espionage cases are usually tried in secret due to their links to national security.