Digital Economy Barriers to Trade Regulation Status, Challenges, and China's Response

Abstract

At present, the WTO's multilateral trading system faces the acute challenge of adapting to the digital and commercial economies' rapid evolution. The recent regional trade agreements embody the corresponding achievements of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), and the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) in facilitating the free flow of data and regulating digital barriers to trade. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has also developed several new norms for promoting free data flow and protecting personal data privacy. The new regional trade agreements fulfil the digital trade threshold, prohibit delocalization by the data center and establish organized frameworks for cross-border data flow and personal privacy protection. In the negotiations on trade services agreements, China should focus on implementing a new management structure, speeding up domestic legislation and legislative reforms, and establishing a legal framework that promotes the free flow of data, fair competition, and personal information among corporations.

Impact of Digital Service Trade Barriers and Cross-Border Digital Service Inputs on Economic Growth

“…Excessive regulatory intensity hampers digital products and services inflow, impeding the interaction between domestic and foreign data elements. Conversely, if regulations are moderate, the dual-dimensional driving effects of data element inflows on the economic growth of the importing country can be realized [32]. Therefore, we derive the following hypothesis.…”

Los límites de la regulación del comercio digital en América Latina: Falta de capacidad técnica e imposición implícita de infraestructura digital extranjera

“…Esto no solo afecta la libertad de expresión, sino que también crea barreras significativas para las empresas que buscan operar en China o acceder a su vasto mercado (Arafa, Khan y Soomro, 2021). Este fenómeno es de gran interés en el plano del comercio internacional en particular, ya que aquí la imposición de estas medidas refleja una contradicción significativa entre un Estado integrado profundamente en la economía global y, a su vez, altamente restrictivo con el uso de la tecnología (Bensen, Henze y Farnsworth, 2006).…”

The Impact of Data Elements on Enterprises’ Capital Market Performance: Insights from Stock Liquidity in China and Implications for Global Markets

“…The global pandemic, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, has had a profound impact on the world economy, causing widespread economic stagnation, job losses, and a reduction in international exchanges and cooperation [2]. Meanwhile, climate change is threatening the ecological balance of the Earth at an unprecedented rate [3], with frequent extreme weather Sustainability 2024, 16, 3585 2 of 30 events exacerbating the instability of food and water resources, threatening the sustainable development of the socio-economic system [4]. Influenced by the weak recovery of the global economy, heightened geopolitical tensions, increased scrutiny of investments by major nations, and high interest rates, global cross-border direct investment remained subdued in 2023.…”

“…Through gradual opening up and participation in the formulation of international rules, China is expected to have a greater influence in the field of digital trade, promoting the healthy development of the global digital economy [15]. However, this model also faces challenges, including how to actively integrate into the global digital economy system while protecting the domestic market, and how to ensure data security and consumer rights while advancing the development of the digital economy [16]. China's strategy and practices will have a significant impact on the formation and trends of global digital trade rules and will also serve as an important reference for the digital economy policy choices of other economies.…”