U.S. technology companies can breathe a temporary sigh of relief after the Chinese government reportedly backed off of imposing some of the strict rules that would require vendors to include secret source code, comply with audits and build backdoors into their products.
Chinese officials apparently decided to delay the restrictions - which were met with protest from U.S. business lobbies - after a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Lew released prepared remarks prior to the meeting in which he stressed the U.S.'s stance on the proposed rules, which were slated for rollout in March. “We have already made clear our concerns regarding forced technology transfer and other attempts to bar technological competition, most recently in the banking sector…,” he said. There is no indication how long China will postpone the requirements, the WSJ said.
