Shanghai Issues Measures Supporting International Data Center Development and Cross-Border Data Flows
DataNews Editorial Team
Shanghai’s Cyberspace Administration and Data Bureau have issued measures intended to advance high-level external opening and streamline cross-border data movement. The policy includes support for international data center construction as part of broader cross-border data and computing-services infrastructure development.
- Shanghai has issued measures aimed at streamlining cross-border data movement.
- The policy includes support for international data center construction.
- International data center support is linked to computing services and cross-border digital services.
- Lin-gang, Hongqiao and Pudong are named for planned international data cooperation centers.
- No specific data center project, operator, capacity, investment or delivery timeline has been disclosed.
Shanghai’s Cyberspace Administration and Data Bureau have published measures designed to facilitate cross-border data movement and support high-level external opening.
For the data center sector, the document calls for further development of cross-border data-flow infrastructure and supports the construction of international data centers. The policy links that support to the development of the computing-services industry and associated cross-border digital services.
The measures also support plans to establish international data cooperation centers in the Lin-gang New Area, Hongqiao International Central Business District and Pudong New Area. These locations are identified as areas for international data cooperation, rather than as confirmed data center project sites.
For operators, investors and infrastructure users, the initiative is a regulatory indication that Shanghai intends to improve the enabling environment for infrastructure serving cross-border digital workloads. This could support the development of the city’s international data center segment, given the policy’s connection between data-center infrastructure, cross-border data transfers and digital services.
However, the announcement is programmatic and regulatory in nature. It does not confirm the construction, financing or commissioning of any specific international data center, and does not identify operators, capacity, investment levels, delivery dates, precise sites or the mechanism through which support will be provided.
The measures provide a regulatory signal supporting infrastructure for cross-border digital services, including international data centers and computing services. They could improve conditions for colocation and data-processing demand in Shanghai, but their practical effect will depend on implementation rules, permitting processes and projects that have not yet been disclosed.
- — / October 16, 2026 · ChineseSource →
This article was prepared by the DataNews editorial team based on the sources listed above.