纽约时报中文网 - 中英对照版-中英中国扩大保密法覆盖范围在华外企运营风险加剧

China passed revisions to an already stringent state secrets law, broadening the scope of the type of information that would be considered a national security risk in the world’s second-largest economy.

中国通过了本已严格的保守国家秘密法的修订草案，扩大了被这个世界第二大经济体视为存在国家安全风险的信息类型范围。

The changes elevate the risks for foreign businesses operating in the country. Over the last year, China has targeted consultants and business executives in espionage cases as part of a push to limit the spread of information sought by investors and foreign companies.

这些变化增加了外国企业在华经营面临的风险。去年，中国将间谍案的目标对准了商业顾问和企业高管，这是限制投资者和外国企业寻求的信息流动的努力的一部分。

The amendments to the state secrets law, which were passed by China’s top legislative body on Tuesday and go into effect in May, include a new legal concept called “work secrets.” It is defined as information that is not an official state secret, but “will cause certain adverse effects if leaked,” according to the law’s text.

保守国家秘密法（简称保密法）修订草案已于本周二在中国最高立法机构获得了通过，并将于今年5月生效，修订的文本中包括一个名为“工作秘密”的新法律概念，法律文本将其定义为不属于国家秘密，但“泄露后会造成一定不利影响的事项”。

“The law is vague and the definition of state secret so broad that it could include anything that the party-state decides it should,” said Diana Choyleva, chief economist at Enodo Economics, a London-based research firm focused on China. “It will also further complicate life for foreign firms and their employees based in China.”

“这项法律含糊不清，国家秘密的定义如此宽泛，以至于它能包括这个政党国家认为应该包括的任何内容，”总部位于伦敦的中国问题研究公司伊诺多经济公司的首席经济学家戴安娜·乔伊利瓦说。“这也将使外国公司及其在华员工的生活变得更加复杂。”

Ms. Choyleva said many companies will be trapped in a state of “paralysis” while they wait to see how China applies the new provisions in the law.

乔伊利瓦说，许多企业在观望中国如何实施法律中的新规定时，将陷入一种“瘫痪”状态。

It is the latest example of the country’s heightened vigilance of state security under the leadership of Xi Jinping. Over the last few years, China has progressively fortified its national security and data sharing laws, while warning about the risks of spying under the cloak of business.

保密法的修订是中国在习近平领导下对国家安全保持高度警惕的最新例证。在过去几年里，中国已逐步加强了本国的国家安全和数据共享法律，同时对以商业为幌子进行间谍活动的风险发出了警告。

But the strengthening of China’s national security laws has rattled many foreign businesses and investors. Many of the changes exercise an unclear and expansive criteria of what would constitute a national security risk, raising the possibility that the rules could be applied arbitrarily.

但中国加强国家安全法的做法已让许多外国企业和投资者感到不安。修订的法律中有许多对国家安全风险的构成标准不明确且宽泛的地方，这增加了任意执法的可能性。

The crackdown has amplified the challenges of investing in China at a time when foreign direct investment in the country has fallen to its lowest levels in three decades, as companies are increasingly unwilling to endure the trade-offs of operating in China for an economy no longer growing by leaps and bounds.

在中国的外国直接投资已降至30年来最低水平的时候，这些严格措施加剧了在华投资的挑战，因为当经济不再突飞猛进的时候，企业已越来越不愿意忍受在华经营面临的挑战。

Jens Eskelund, the president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, noted that the changes to the state secrets law came a week after the country’s cabinet, the State Council, said that one of the year’s priorities was to attract more foreign investment by shoring up investor confidence.

中国欧盟商会会长彦辞(Jens Eskelund)指出，在此次修订前，中国的国务院在一周前曾表示，今年的首要任务之一是通过巩固外资在华发展信心，吸引更多的外国投资。

“The scope of issues deemed ‘sensitive’ seems to be constantly expanding, which makes it more difficult for companies to access information necessary for making investment decisions related to their China operations,” he said in a written statement.

“被视为‘敏感’的问题范围似乎在不断扩大，这使得企业更加难以获取与它们的在华业务相关的投资决策所需的信息，”他在一份书面声明中写道。

The state secrets law was first passed in 1988 and then amended in 2010 when China imposed tougher requirements on internet and telecommunications companies to cooperate with the police, state security officials and prosecutors in investigating leaks of state secrets.

《保守国家秘密法》是在1988年首次通过的，后于2010年进行了修订，当时，中国对互联网和电信公司配合警方、国家安全官员和检察官调查泄露国家秘密的行为提出了更严格的要求。

China’s ruling Communist Party determined the law needed updating because of advances in science and technology that created “new problems and challenges” in maintaining confidentiality, an official at the National Administration of State Secrets Protection told state media.

国家保密局的一名官员对官方媒体说，科学技术的进步让保密工作面临“新问题新挑战”，因此，执政的中共决定有必要修订该法。

China also revised its counterespionage law last year to expand the definition of what could be construed as spying. It stipulated that sharing “documents, data, materials and objects” could be considered spying if the information had “a bearing on national security and interests."

中国去年还修订了反间谍法，扩大了间谍活动的定义。按照反间谍法的规定，获取“关系国家安全和利益的文件、数据、资料、物品”可被视为间谍行为。

The series of legal changes coincides with greater scrutiny on business across the economy. Chinese executives in the finance sector are being targeted as part of sweeping anti-corruption campaigns. Government authorities targeted consulting and advisory firms with foreign ties last year through a series of raids, detainments and arrests as part of the enforcement of counterespionage laws.

在修订这些法律的同时，中国也在对整个经济领域的商业活动进行更严格的审查。作为涉及范围广泛的反腐败运动的一部分，金融业的中国高管正在成为打击目标。去年，作为反间谍法实施的一部分，政府当局曾针对与外国有联系的咨询公司进行了一系列的突袭、拘留和逮捕。

In addition, Beijing has detained foreign executives and accused them of spying, while broadly using its authority to prevent others from leaving the country. In January, China’s foreign ministry said a British consultant who vanished from public view in 2018 was sentenced to five years in prison in 2022 for “buying and unlawfully supplying intelligence for an organization or individual outside China.”

此外，中国政府还拘留外国高管，指控他们从事间谍活动，同时使用其广泛的权力阻止其他人离境。中国外交部曾在今年1月表示，一名在2018年从公众视野中消失的英国顾问已于2022年被判处五年有期徒刑，他的罪名是“为境外收买、非法提供情报”。

China has sought to educate its citizens about the national security risks present in the economy through a series of comics from China’s Ministry of State Security. The online series is based on actual espionage investigations, the ministry has said.

中国还力图对公民进行有关经济中存在国家安全风险的教育，包括使用国家安全部制作的一个连环画系列。国安部称该在线系列以真实案例为基础。

In the latest installment released this week, a special investigator from the agency goes undercover to infiltrate a consulting firm in China and procure evidence that this company was illegally contacting experts in sensitive industries. The investigator is chasing a “big fish,” a foreign spy named “Jason,” who is part of the company owner’s network of associates. In the final scene, the investigator finds a list of experts in the company’s document room, but he is discovered by a colleague.

在本周发布的最新一集中，国安部的一名特别侦察员以假身份应聘，打入了中国的一家咨询公司，获取了该公司与敏感行业专家进行非法联系的证据。那名特侦正在追捕一条“大鱼”，也就是名叫“Jason”的外国间谍，他是公司老板关系网的一部分。在这集连环画快结束的时候，那名特侦在公司档案室里找到了一份专家名单，但他被同事发现了。

The comic does not identify the company as foreign or domestic. Last year, Chinese authorities raided the offices of consulting firm Capvision Partners, which offered a matchmaking service to connect clients seeking information with a roster of “experts” across various industries.

连环画没有表明该公司是外国人开的还是本国人开的。去年，中国当局突击搜查了投资咨询公司凯盛融英的办公室，该公司为寻求信息的客户提供与各行各业的“专家”牵线搭桥的服务。