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China Youth Daily: Calmly Deal with U.S.’s New Assault in Cybersecurity

Shen Yi, a professor of international politics at Fudan University, wrote an opinion article about how to deal with the U.S.’s recent cyber espionage charge against five Chinese military officers. Shen offered three guidelines that China should take to respond to the U.S.’s new round of cybersecurity offensives against China: 

“First, China needs to stay calm, based on moderation and on an accurate judgment of its own national interests. It should comprehensively use a number of different strategies in response to the United States’ new offensives in cyber security. … China must be fully prepared on two sides. On the one hand, it must prepare enough short-term measures so that U.S. companies can pay clear, palpable, high-enough prices for Washington’s irresponsible actions. The goal is to let Washington actively come back to a dialogue to resolve the issue and to revoke these absurd [charges]. On the other hand, China cannot shake the strategic judgment and strategic direction. We must stick to our own path and not dance [in tune with] the U.S. strategic tempo.” 
“Second, from the perspective of China’s own national cybersecurity strategy, the United States’ surprise attack is both a challenge and more of an opportunity. … Today, the U.S. government’s move clearly and explicitly tells China the urgency of developing its own comprehensive national cybersecurity capabilities. … To deal with such threats in cyberspace, China must, under the framework of overall national security, promote the development of critical network security capabilities and cultivate a large number of network security enterprises with considerable potential. From mechanical design, strategic planning, and policy development, China should learn how to compete and cooperate with the United States in the realm of global cyberspace.”   

“Third, China must always be aware of its special nature as an emerging great power. Facing the pressure from the United States, China can neither cut off its contact with cyberspace, or replicate the strategy of the U.S. and thus fall into the typical security dilemma. … In the long run, in the transition of global cyberspace governance, China must put forward a strategic proposal on behalf of the emerging powers and developing countries.” 

Source: China Youth Daily, May 20, 2014 
http://news.youth.cn/gn/201405/t20140520_5228883.htm http://opinion.people.com.cn/n/2014/0520/c1003-25042706.html