China's unsettled data rules create regulatory risk

Significance

It will focus on the role of data in economic and social development. Meanwhile, the incomplete and sometimes incoherent implementation of new regulations governing data classification and export is already causing problems for business.

Impacts

• For many foreign data handlers, data export rules will be the most important element.
• A regulatory tug-of-war could begin if Chinese data export rules conflict with rules elsewhere in the world, particularly the EU's GDPR.
• A pilot Data Resources Court in Wenzhou may provide useful lessons, since courts are increasingly called on to resolve data-related issues.