To promote global cooperation on cross-border data flow and ensure that the benefits of digital advancements are shared by people worldwide, China has officially released the full text of the Global Cross-Border Data Flow Cooperation Initiative at the 2024 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit.

"This is another important initiative on data that China issued after the release of the Global Initiative on Data Security," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a daily press briefing in Beijing.

As part of the core message of China's philosophy of building a community with a shared future in cyberspace, the newly released initiative demonstrates China's firm resolve to coordinate development and security, improve digital governance and practice multilateralism.

The initiative suggests that governments should:

• Encourage electronic cross-border data transmission to meet the needs of business and social activities. This will help global e-commerce and digital trade serve as new drivers for economic growth and sustainable development.

• Respect the regulatory differences of various countries and regions in cross-border data flows. They should support free data flows that do not violate national security, public interests, and personal privacy. Regulations on cross-border data flows should be permitted when they aim to achieve legitimate public policy objectives on the premise that such regulatory measures do not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade, and do not cross the limits of the goals they seek to achieve.

• Respect security measures taken by all countries in accordance with their laws to protect non-personal data related to national security and public interests, and ensure the secure and orderly cross-border flows of relevant non-personal data.

• Respect measures taken by all countries to protect personal information rights and interests including individual privacy. Countries should be encouraged to provide convenient channels for cross-border transmission of personal information on the condition that such information is well protected. Countries should be encouraged to establish and improve legal and supervision frameworks on personal information protection, conduct exchanges on best practices and experiences, improve the compatibility of personal information protection mechanisms and rules, and foster mutual recognition of relevant standards, technology regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Enterprises should be encouraged to obtain personal information protection certifications to demonstrate their compliance with personal information protection standards and ensure the secure and orderly cross-border flows of personal information.

• Support exploring the establishment of negative lists for managing cross-border data flow to promote efficient, convenient and safe cross-border data flow.

• Work together to create a data flow and usage environment that is open, inclusive, secure, and non-discriminatory, jointly uphold a fair and just market order, and promote the orderly and healthy development of the digital economy.

• Enhance the transparency, predictability, and non-discriminatory nature of measures managing the cross-border flows of various types of data, as well as the interoperability of policy frameworks.

• Actively conduct international cooperation in the field of cross-border data flows. Support should be given to developing countries and the least developed countries to enable them to effectively participate in and utilize cross-border data flows so as to promote their digital economic growth. Developed countries should be encouraged to provide capacity building and technical assistance to developing countries, especially the least developed ones, in order to bridge the digital divide and achieve fair and sustainable development.

• Encourage the use of digital technologies to promote innovative applications in cross-border data flows. They should improve technological capabilities to ensure efficient, convenient and safe cross-border data flows. They should advance international mutual recognition of evaluation standards for technical and security assurance capabilities related to cross-border data flows, and ensure effective intellectual property protection.

• Oppose overstretching the concept of national security on data issues. They should object to making restrictive and differentiated policies on cross-border data flows targeting specific countries and enterprises without factual evidence, or implementing discriminatory restrictions, prohibitions, and other similar measures against specific countries and enterprises.

• Prohibit illicit acquisition of data through methods such as setting up backdoors in digital products and services or exploiting vulnerabilities in digital technology infrastructure. They should collaborate to crack down on cross-border illegal activities in the data field and jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and enterprises in all countries.