China to Build Information Security Base

China to Build Information Security Base

China is to build an information industry base to battle invasions by hackers and other illegal cyberspace activities over the next three to five years.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the national information security base was held Thursday in this capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, with participants from the Ministry of Science and Technology and other related departments.

The Ministry of Public Security and other ministries sent a message to congratulate the launch of the program.

Xu Guanhua, deputy minister of science and technology, said that information security is a strategic issue that affects a nation's survival.

The new base will provide a platform for a number of companies to develop products that can protect the country's confidential files on the Net and prevent computers from being raided by hackers, according to sources.

The companies are expected to generate more than one billion yuan (about 120 million U.S. dollars) in profits annually in three to five years.

Sichuan has traditionally been a center of the electronics, information and defense industries.