(Yicai Global) Sept. 13 -- Chinese coal giant Shenhua Group Corp. and Internet security firm Qihoo 360 Technology Co. jointly announced that they will set up a clean energy data security technology research center to protect national energy and economic security.

The research center was unveiled at the 2017 China Internet Security Conference today. It aims to foster important scientific research achievements and professional talent development leveraging the core technologies of big data security and Shenhua Group's experience in coal, electricity and transportation, Cnstock.com reported.

The cooperation with Qihoo360 will strengthen the group's network security capabilities, enhancing its core competitiveness in the big data era, said Meng Jun, deputy general manager of Shenhua Group's information management unit. It also shoulders the great responsibility of protecting national energy and economic security, Meng said.

Shenhua Group has planned 29 network security tasks since 2012. It completed 21 of them. The firm expects to finish all of them by the end of next year. The group will continue to work with universities and enterprises to further improve its ability to protect cyber security in the field of energy.

This facility will be the second research center Qihoo 360 established in a cooperative effort. Qihoo 360 will work with firms from various sectors, said Qihoo 360 Chairman Qi Xiangdong.