Within the framework of the International Scientific Conference “Russia-China strategic partnership in a changing world”, organized by the State Academic University of Humanities (GAUGN) and the Financial Research Institute (FRI) of the Russian Ministry of Finance , there was a meeting held on May 25^th2022 of the session Digitalization in Russia and China: Legal Challenges”. The work of the session as been moderated by the Head of the Center for Legal Research of Digital Technologies of the State Academic University of Humanities, a Leading Researcher of FRI, Dr. Professor L.V. Sannikova. The conference presenters discussed a range of issues around digitalization, such as the regulation of digitalization, digital platforms and their role in the modern economy, data security, fintech, financial security, international sanctions, crypto assets, artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, and others. Comparative legal analysis and the exchange of regulatory experience were dominant aspects of discussion, and a significant number of reports contained proposals on how legal regulation may cater for the needs of the new digital environment.

Dr. Law Hong Xue, PhD, Beijing Normal University Law School Professor, Co-Director of UNCITRAL-BNU Joint Certificate Program on International E-Commerce, commenced the session with a presentation on legal regulation of data security and its use in the digital economy in China. The government policies stimulate the digitization of all industrial sectors and trade areas, and emphasize data as one of the key elements of social productivity. The growing body of laws and regulations provide an enabling, secure, and sustainable environment for the digital economy. A portfolio of the comprehensive legal systems, including the Chinese Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law, Administrative Measures for Internet Information Services, Measures for the Administration of Protecting the Security of International Connections to Computer Information Networks and other regulations, are put in place to protect computer data from being damaged in natural disasters, computer crimes and other types of abuse and misuse. With the emergence of the data industry, the Chinese Personal Information Protection Law, alongside with the relevant regulations, outlines the legal criteria and requirements for processing personal information in data products or services. China is committed to building a secure, open, cooperative, and organized community with a shared future in cyberspace, while protecting its network and data autonomy. China is developing the standards and governance mechanisms for data security and utilization, and is open to cooperation with international partners to develop unified rules and standards.

A presentation given by Dr Chen-Yongdong, a Professor of Law Faculty of Yunnan University, Vice President of the Chinese Society of International Economic Law, Executive Director of the Chinese Society of Private International Law and Man Boven, a PhD. Candidate of International Economic Law, Law School of Yunnan University discussed assessment of the risk factors of Sino-Russian fintech cooperation and financial security based on SWOT analysis. The presenters commented on the positive progress made by China and Russia in cross-border currency exchange, enterprise financing mechanisms and fintech development in recent years.

The method of SWOT matrix analysis was applied to evaluate the risk factors of Sino-Russian fintech cooperation and financial security, the top-level design advantages for the cooperation mechanism, and the opportunity for international payment systems, such as CIPS and SPFS. This model revealed that Western financial sanctions on Russia have not only strengthened the collaboration between China, Russia and non-western countries on their financial security but also accelerated the process of “de-dollarization”. At the same time, problems, such as the imbalance in investment cooperation development, the deficiency of innovative products and information sharing mechanisms, the security problems of capital account opening, foreign exchange reserve assets and international payment and settlement system, are some of the common challenges for China and Russia in the financial cooperation and financial security domains. The presentation pointed out that the future effective cooperation between China and Russia in personal financial information security protection, risk management and resilience to the pressure of financial sectors and institutions, fintech empowering social governance, enhancement of financial regulation, international cooperation of regulation technology, and the promotion in independent innovation ability of core financial technology will be conducive to the improvement of fintech security for both countries.

Dr. Sun Qi, The Secretary General of the Research Center for Regional Economic Integration and Rule of Law of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, , in the presentation “The Digital Cold War in a Changing World” noted the desire of the US and other NATO countries to impose the “Digital Iron Curtain” on China and Russia. Cyberwar, information war and cognitive war supported by information and communication technologies (ICT) are some of the important areas of the current fierce geopolitical conflicts in the world. In that regard, the need to strengthen cooperation between China and Russia in the area of cybersecurity and digital currencies was highlighted. The concept of “Digital Suppression”, which describes behavior aimed at intervening and influencing the technological industries of another country in pursuit of strategic objectives, was introduced. The presenter also suggested several ways to counteract the digital cold war, such as the formulating some general rules for the protection of critical infrastructure, sharing experience in developing the legislative regulation of cyberspace and establishing a framework for payments in digital currency. Moreover, in the context of financial interactions, the presenter stated that the digital economy and trade exchanges should be deeper and more diversified, to provide China and Russia with a wider range of cooperation opportunities in the field of digital currencies.