BEIJING, 11th April, 2024 (WAM) - China will remove foreign ownership restrictions on some value-added telecom services provided within domestic pilot areas, according to a circular released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Wednesday.
Based on a report by China Central Television, the value-added telecommunications services will encompass internet data centers, content delivery networks, internet service providers, online data processing and transaction processing, information publishing platforms, and information delivery services. However, this excludes services related to internet news information, online publishing, internet radio and television, internet culture management, as well as information protection and processing services.
The pilot areas are Beijing's national comprehensive demonstration zone for expanding opening-up in the service sector, the Lingang new area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the pioneer area for socialist modernization in Shanghai, Hainan Free Trade Port, and Shenzhen pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics, according to the circular.
The move is China's latest effort to expand opening-up, align itself with high-standard international economic and trade rules, stimulate market competition and vitality of business entities, serve the building of a new development pattern, and share the development dividends of China's digital economy with the world.
The market size of cloud computing in China reached 602 billion yuan (around 83.21 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, with a year-on-year growth of 32.3 percent, surpassing the global growth rate by 12 percent. This sector presents a compelling opportunity for foreign investment.
Li Jiawen, deputy general manager of the Shenzhen Hilan Cloud Data Center Technology Co., Ltd., stated that policies of expanding foreign investment access will bring more overseas business partners and market opportunities for the company.
"There are tangible benefits for companies like ours engaged in cross-border businesses of data centers. On the one hand, it can promote the upgrade of various products in China's data centers. On the other hand, it also facilitates the international market expansion of technologically advanced and innovative data centers, such as the underwater data center," he said.
In addition, the Qingyang National Data Center Cluster in northwest China's Gansu Province is dedicated to establishing a collaborative platform aimed at attracting foreign investment and facilitating industry upgrades.
"This not only brings new business opportunities for foreign companies but also expands their scope of operations in the Chinese market. At the same time, it also injects new technologies and vitality into China's data centers, effectively driving the rapid development of the sector," said Yu Lifeng, director of engineering technology at the intelligent computing center of Gansu Suihong Green Computing Power Co., Ltd.