CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jihong Chen, Zhong Lun Law Firm
Macau and Taiwan regions) and may not be free - ly transferred overseas. Where it is necessary to transfer such data overseas, special require - ments for each type of information shall apply, such as obtaining approval from the competent authorities. 5.4 Blocking Statutes According to Article 36 of the DSL, organisa - tions may not provide any foreign judicial or law enforcement body with any data stored within the territory of China without the approval of the competent authority. With respect to internal investigations, the restrictions on data collection and CBDT as mentioned in 5.1 Restrictions on International Data Transfers shall apply. In addition, the Rules on Counteracting Unjustified Extra-Territorial Application of Foreign Legislation and Other Measures of the People’s Republic of China (“the Rules”; 阻断外国法律与措施不当域外适用办 法 ) were released by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) on 9 January 2021, with immediate effect. According to Article 36 of the DSL, companies or individuals may not provide data stored within the territory of China to foreign judicial or law enforcement agencies as requested, unless approved by the competent authorities. The Rules are considered to be China’s blocking statute and have set up a relatively comprehensive anti-economic sanc - tions system to deal with the long-arm jurisdic - tions of certain countries and regions. 5.5 Recent Developments Legislation regulating CBDT in China has been actively evolving in recent years. Specifically, for the purposes of facilitating data flow and promot - ing foreign investments, and pursuant to Article 6 of the CBDT Provisions, under the framework of the national system for classified and hierarchical
protection of data, pilot free trade zones may, at their own discretion, formulate lists of data that need to be included in the scope of CBDT appli - cation procedures (“Negative List”). In May and August 2024, and February 2025, Tianjin, Beijing Shanghai and Hainan Pilot Free Trade Zones respectively released their Nega - tive List as well as relevant supporting meas - ures. In these free trade zones, only the CBDT of data listed on the Negative List conducted by companies still requires CBDT application pro - cedures, and CBDT application procedures can be exempted for transferring data not listed on the Negative List. In addition to the Negative List, local govern - ments are also exploring other initiatives to facili - tate the flow of data. For example, the Imple - mentation Guidelines for Standard Contracts on Cross-Border Flow of Personal Information in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ( 粤港澳大湾区个人信息跨境流动标准合同实施 指引 ) were issued to facilitate data flow among companies within the Greater Bay Area. In November 2024, aiming to encourage a more efficient, convenient and collaborative approach for international data flows, the CAC issued the Global Data Cross-Border Flow Co-operation Initiative ( 全球数据跨境流动合作倡议 ), advocating for the principles of “openness, inclusiveness, security, co-operation and non-discrimination” towards all international stakeholders. The above underscores the Chinese govern - ment’s objectives to stabilise the economy and enhance the facilitation of international data transfers.
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