The eighth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress which opened here Friday, deliberated the draft law on electronic signatures for the first time. "As a predominant means to ensure the security of electronic transactions, on-line signatures have seen widespread application in recent years," said Cao Kangtai, director of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, in his report to the top legislature.
"But problems have occurred since China has not legitimized the electronic signatures, hindering the growth of China's e-commerce and e-government."
Cao said the draft law would make electronic signatures as legitimate as handwritten signatures. A legal electronic signatureshould identity the signer and confirm file content.
As Internet trade requires a reliable third party to identify the signers, the credibility of the on-line certifying organizations is significant for the transaction security.
Cao said China drafted the market access system for on-line certifying centers in the draft law to ensure the security of e-commerce.
The State Council started lawmaking process last April, poolingexperience from experts and legislation from developed nations.
Statistics show that China has some 4,000 websites dealing withe-commerce and over 70 on-line certifying centers. China's Internet Data Center (IDC) estimates that domestic revenue from e-commerce amounted to 60 billion US dollars in 2003
Quelle: Xinhua News, 02.04.2004
