China calls for int'l co-op on information security

BEIJING - China on Tuesday called on the international community to work more closely to improve information security.

"China believes information and internet security is a common challenge facing all countries, thus it can only be effectively coped with through international cooperation," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a daily press briefing on Tuesday.

Jiang's comments came after the UN representatives of China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan jointly sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday, requesting that he circulate the International Code of Conduct for Information Security as a formal UN document of the 66th session of the General Assembly. ?

The document is the first of its kind to put forward comprehensive and systematic proposals on international information security rules.

China hopes the code of conduct will provide a foundation for related international discussions, and calls on countries to continue discussions within the UN framework to reach a consensus on norms and rules to regulate states' conduct for information and cyber activities, Jiang said.

She said that would help promote the information and internet security in all countries and bring common benefits.

According to the document, the code of conduct's purpose is to identify states' rights and responsibilities on the Web, promote constructive and responsible behavior, and enhance cooperation in addressing the common threats and challenges.