China's Tianjin issues negative list for outbound data

TIANJIN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) on Thursday released a pioneering data exit management negative list to facilitate the cross-border data flows of companies.

The list includes 13 main classes and 46 sub-classes of outbound data that require safety assessment while providing detailed descriptions and examples of these categories, said Liu Zhiyong, an official of Tianjin's municipal bureau of commerce.

Cross-border data flows are essential in the global digital economy. Negative lists can help enterprises solve problems such as the vague definition of important data and a lack of specific identification standards, said Zuo Xiaodong, a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China.

The release of the negative list will help Tianjin attract more export-oriented enterprises and multinational companies, and provide experience for the optimization of China's cross-border data flow management system, said Liang Yiming, vice head of Tianjin's Binhai New Area, where the pilot FTZ is located.

Since its establishment in 2014, the Tianjin pilot FTZ has implemented 615 institutional innovation measures, 42 of which have been promoted nationwide.