BEIJING – China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, a top law-making body, passed a revised version of China’s surveying and mapping law intended to safeguard the security of China’s geographic information, lawmakers told reporters in Beijing.

Hefty new penalties were attached to “intimidate” foreigners who carry out surveying work without permission.

President Xi Jinping has overseen a raft of new legislature in the name of safeguarding China’s national security by upgrading and adding to already broad laws governing state secrets and security.

Laws include placing management of foreign nongovernmental organizations under the Security Ministry and a cybersecurity law requiring that businesses store important business data in China, among others.

Overseas critics say that these laws give the state extensive powers to shut foreign companies out of sectors deemed “critical” or to crack down on dissent at home.

The revision to the mapping law aims to raise understanding of China’s national territory education and promotion among the Chinese people, He Shaoren, head spokesman for the NPC Standing Committee, said, according to the official China News Service.

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