David Wei, a research director with the Research Academy of Legend Group Ltd, is reported in the China Daily as saying that China will soon draft a national standard for computer security chips and use them on computer mainboards, in another attempt at building the country's own standard system.

Wei's company has been appointed by the government to be responsible for formulating China's personal computer security chip standard, with the first draft expected later this year and the produced chips to be used on computer mainboards, providing higher levels of security than current software information security measures such as anti-virus software and firewalls.

Wei said that Legend, the Chinese computer maker, will manufacture trial chips in the second half 2004. Wei believes that by 2006 as much as 60% of personal computers will run main boards with security chips, with the proportion in China being similar, making for a huge potential market, and one in which Chinese companies should take the opportunity to enhance their competitiveness by formulating industrial standards.

In addition, Wei is quoted as holding that China should also better protect its information security with a domestic standard. China has been working on its own standards to boost the competitiveness of domestic industries and protect national security, both through its development of a Wi-FI standard and introducing the TD-SCDMA standard for third generation mobile communications.