US Vows to Keep Pressing China on Bank Cyber-Security Rules

Washington will keep pressing China to pause new bank cyber-security rules that have upset U.S. companies and is working with Japan and the European Union to present a united front, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.

Deputy Trade Representative Robert Holleyman said he raised the new rules, which would force technology vendors to Chinese banks to hand over secret source code and adopt Chinese encryption algorithms, with Chinese officials during a visit last week.

"We will continue to engage until we can find a fix on this," he told reporters.

"There are a lot of angles that are being used here and we're going to keep pursuing it at the highest levels until we get a satisfactory resolution."

Chinese banks had until Sunday to submit plans for how to comply with new regulations. Washington is also pressing for China to pause the implementation of a draft counter-terrorism law which could also hit IT companies.

Holleyman said the new banking rules would allow Chinese officials to keep the keys to secure systems and would largely shut out U.S. technology and ATM providers from the Chinese market, but were not solely a U.S. problem.

"We are working to try to break down those barriers, and we have also secured support from our allies and trade partners in Japan and the EU," he told the National Lieutenant Governors Association.

"This is not just a U.S.-led initiative, it's an important global initiative," he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2015