VZCZCXRO7375
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #2909/01 2100636
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 280636Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8819
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 7028
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2035
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0756
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2269
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEAHLC/DHS WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 002909 
 
State for EAP/CM JYamomoto, PSecor 
State also for EB/CIP DGross, WWitteman 
USTR for JMcHale, TWineland, TStratford 
USDOC for ITA IKasoff 
USDOC for ITA JEstrada 
GENEVA PASS USTR 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS ETRD PREL EINV WTRO ECON CH
SUBJECT: CHINA NOT YIELDING ON CERTIFICATION SCHEME 
FOR IT PRODUCTS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a July 18 meeting with the National 
Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA), 
United States Trade Representative (USTR) Chief Legal 
Counsel Warren Maruyama, Assistant USTR Tim Stratford, 
Deputy Assistant USTR Tim Wineland, USTR Director for 
China and Taiwan David Katz, Department of Commerce 
Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Asia Ira Kasoff, 
Rebecca Karnak from Market Access and Compliance, and 
Embassy officers raised United States concerns over 
China's proposed unprecedented, mandatory 
certification requirements for 13 categories of 
information technology products.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) USTR Chief Legal Counsel Maruyama summarized 
USG and industry's concerns regarding China's August 
2007 notifications of proposed regulations mandating 
China Compulsory Certification requirements for 13 
categories of information technology products, 
emphasizing that China would be the only country in 
the world to require certification of such products 
for commercial use, as opposed to government 
procurement for national security use. 
 
¶3. (SBU) CNCA Chief Administrator Sun Dawei acknowledged 
that he was aware of USG and industry concerns.  He 
pointed out that CNCA has participated in a series of 
meetings and discussions regarding the notifications, 
which he said are a way of managing the assurance of 
product quality, and are the result of discussions 
among various Chinese government agencies.  One of 
China's objectives, Sun indicated, was to establish a 
single set of standards, one certification, and one 
mark for the affected products.  Sun also mentioned 
that there is a workshop scheduled with industry on 
July 30 to further discuss certifications and 
information security. 
 
¶4. (SBU) USTR's Maruyama explained that industry has 
questions regarding the purpose of the notifications 
and how they would be implemented, adding that the 
products in question involved some of the United 
States' largest technology companies and several 
billion dollars in trade.  United States industry's 
concern, he said, is that the announcement of 
implementing rules (originally scheduled to be 
released in May 2008) would lead to high-level 
politicization of this issue, in light of the serious 
concerns of the USG and United States companies.  The 
USG core request is for CNCA to postpone any 
announcement of the rules so that experts can discuss 
the best way to regulate information security in a 
manner consistent with international practice. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Sun said that the assessment of information 
security products is the responsibility of CNCA, and 
that it believes a unified system of assessment would 
reduce duplication in testing.  He emphasized that the 
promulgation of the certification requirements was the 
result of coordination among several Chinese 
government agencies, and that consultations with 
industry has caused them to postpone the original 
announcement of implementing rules. 
 
¶6. (SBU) USTR's Maruyama expressed his appreciation for 
CNCA's willingness to hold discussions with industry 
and the United States Government.  He said that in an 
effort to strike a balance between security and 
innovation, the United States normally favors the 
innovation side of the equation.  A wrong policy might 
lead China to greater isolation, as in Japan after its 
government pursued policies to pick national champions 
and domestic standards. 
 
¶7. (SBU) When asked by Murayama whether there would be a 
new date for the promulgation of the rules, Sun 
 
BEIJING 00002909  002 OF 002 
 
 
answered that there was no change and no new date.  He 
expressed his hope that the industry participants at 
the July 30 workshop will take the opportunity 
seriously, adding that China's current policy is in 
line with international practices.  Sun added that 
CNCA cannot indefinitely continue to discuss the 
proposed rules, and that industry should attach great 
importance to the July 30 workshop. USTR's Maruyama 
indicated he would relay Sun's views to industry, but 
that industry during the workshop would likely stress 
its core concern, i.e., that mandating such a 
certification regime for products in the commercial 
sector would go considerably beyond international 
practice. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: Sun's comment that CNCA will not delay 
the implementation date of the certification 
requirements suggests that May 1, 2009 will remain the 
deadline for compliance with the as yet unpublished 
regulation. This is despite the fact that the Chinese 
government has until now delayed the publication of 
implementing guidelines, originally expected on May 1, 
¶2008.  In addition, Sun's repeated emphasis on the 
July 30 workshop with industry seemed to be an 
expression of growing impatience with the United 
States' objections to the proposed regulations, and 
possibly a warning that there may not be any further 
opportunity for discussion before final implementing 
regulations are published.  End Comment. 
 
RANDT