China’s Hainan island province eyes international data hub status in ‘two sessions’ proposal
- The pilot programme would include an international data exchange and a trading platform for digital products, such as data services for gaming companies
- Amid China’s plans to utilise the country’s vast troves of data, Hainan joins a slew of local Chinese governments competing to become data hubs
China’s Hainan has ambitions of becoming an international data hub, a local official said at China’s annual top political meetings, as the island province moves to establish itself as the country’s largest free-trade port.
Hainan, often called China’s Hawaii, is seeking support for a pilot programme to develop into an international hub for cross-border data flows, the province’s vice governor Xie Jing wrote in a proposal reported by local media outlets on Tuesday.
The pilot would include establishing an international data exchange and a trading platform for digital products, such as data services for gaming companies that are targeting overseas markets, according to Xie.
Hainan’s proposal comes as the tropical island ramps up efforts to boost its appeal under Beijing’s ambitious plan for it to become a major free trade hub.
Chinese president Xi Jinping first announced the plan in 2018, with Beijing fleshing out more details in June 2020. The 35,000 sq km island would be turned into a “free-trade port” and duty-free shopping mecca by 2035, through measures that include lower income taxes and relaxed visa requirements, the government said.
While calling for looser restrictions on capital and data flows, Hainan officials noted that data flows needed to be “secure” and “orderly”, and should implement data security risk control measures.
