![]() Reliable information has always come at a premium, but until recently corporate transparency was a rare bright spot in the country’s data landscape. The recent moves raise concerns for foreign businesses and investors in China. ![]() In some cases where data remains available to Chinese citizens, it’s possible to access it from abroad using a VPN and a borrowed ID number-but that puts the holder of the ID card at risk. Other resources, such as the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, are now rendered off-limits to foreigners. China has cut access to online sources including decisions from court cases and procurement documents. The database restrictions are part of a wider campaign to remove once-available government data from the internet. Meanwhile, China has increased its use of exit bans, deployed primarily against Chinese citizens but sometimes against foreign businesspeople. ![]() A couple of prominent cases predate the changes-the detention of Australian journalist Cheng Lei and the recent arrest of Japanese executive Hiroshi Nishiyama-and that number may now grow. Last week’s amendments also expand the range of available legal excuses to arrest foreigners in the country. Combined with other recent developments, this is bad news for foreign investment in China. The move follows a recent pattern of Beijing blocking access to critical business data, from patents to local yearbooks, as well as a series of raids on foreign firms-particularly those doing due diligence work. The broadening of China’s anti-espionage law last Wednesday has prompted a key database of Chinese financial information to largely cut off foreign firms.
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