Guangdong authorities unveil new data transfer guidelines amid push to build Greater Bay Area AI hub
- Provincial government will accelerate the establishment of a ‘Digital Bay Area’ by looking at two-way, cross-border data transfers
- The measures are part of Guangdong province’s plan to rank first in the country for intelligent computing power by 2025
Authorities in southern Guangdong province want to facilitate data transfers across the Greater Bay Area as part of a broader plan to make the region a national artificial intelligence (AI) hub, according to new guidelines.
The provincial government will accelerate the establishment of a “Digital Bay Area” by looking at two-way, cross-border transfers of data, and building a “special data zone” in the region, according to guidelines released by local authorities on Monday.
The special zone in the Greater Bay Area, which links Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong, is aimed at addressing blockages in the industrial chain as well as the sharing and transfer of data within the region, according to documents published by Guangdong province, which is home to southern tech hub Shenzhen.
The plans will leverage the advantages of Hong Kong and Macau in establishing the rules and mechanisms for data transfers, and creating the infrastructure for data storage, sharing and transaction services in a compliant way, the guidelines state.
The measures are part of Guangdong province’s plan to rank first in intelligent computing power by 2025, with a relatively comprehensive innovation system in general AI and expanded scenarios for high-level AI applications.