Microsoft signed an agreement on source code recording with Chinese government on January 28, according to which the government and appointed units could, under Microsoft authorization, to review the source code of the Windows operating system. Presiding over the signing ceremony was Wang Chunzheng, deputy director of the State Development Planning Commission.
As a step of Microsoft's "Government Security Program", the agreement is aimed at strengthening governments' confidence in the security capability of Windows platform. Besides access to source code, the program also reveals technology information of Windows system in an effort to help governments build a safe computer system. China is among the first batch of countries to sign the agreement with Microsoft following Russia, NATO and UK.
The China National Information Security Testing, Evaluation and Certification Center has been authorized by the State Development Planning Commission to sign the source code agreement with Microsoft.
Following agreement with Beijing municipal government on promotion of software industry development on February 27, Microsoft also inked agreements respectively with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Unicom and CNPC, to help the bank establish a new-generation security system of personal information on e-bank, jointly set up a platform with China Unicom of CDMA1X mobile communication value-added service, and conduct strategic cooperation with CNPC on Informationization construction and application.
(People's Daily March 5, 2003)
