China in international digital economy governance

ABSTRACT China ranks prominently in terms of capacity to engage in and benefit from the data-driven world economy. But China is more restrictive than many other countries on digital service imports, in addition to being passive in negotiations towards universal digital economic governance rules at the World Trade Organization. The world’s digital economy is getting more geopolitical, with practices of digital sovereignty and signs of a splinternet on the rise. However, with its application to join regional-free trade arrangements like the RCEP and CPTPP, China is internationalizing its digital economy governance. China’s domestic legislations and policy reforms, meanwhile, are increasingly aligning with those in Europe, in addition to industry-level interoperability with the United States. This provides a basis for further harmonization of digital economy governance with the rest of the world.