The "Notice of the People's Bank of China on Protecting Personal Financial Information by Banking Financial Institutions" states that the processing of personal information collected by commercial banks must be stored, handled and analysed within the territory of China, and such personal information is not allowed to be transferred overseas (paragraph 6).
The Personal Financial Information Protection Technical Specification (PFI Specification) regulates “any personal information collected, processed and stored by Financial Institutions during the provision of financial products and services" (PFI). The PFI specification requires that PFI collected or generated in mainland China is stored, processed and analysed within the territory. Further, under the PFI Specification, where there is a business need for cross-border transfer of personal financial information (PFI) and the financial institution obtains explicit consent to the transfer from the personal financial information subjects (i.e. the persons under the PFI Specification providing the data), conducts a security assessment and then supervises the offshore recipient to ensure responsible processing, storage and deletion of PFI (Section 7.1.3).

Directive No. 618 establishes a framework for promoting Chinese products in government procurement by creating an accreditation system with specific criteria. To qualify, products must be manufactured by enterprises with full Chinese intellectual property ownership or by Chinese entities with legally obtained rights. The product's trademark must be owned by a Chinese-registered company and certified by relevant national or provincial authorities. The 2010 Notice revised some requirements, allowing for licensed foreign IP use while maintaining a focus on Chinese ownership or usage rights for trademarks. This regulatory approach presents significant challenges for non-Chinese companies, as it requires freedom from foreign restrictions on IP use and prioritises products with strong ties to Chinese intellectual property and enterprises. The overall policy aims to foster indigenous innovation and give preference to Chinese-developed or Chinese-owned products in government procurement, potentially limiting opportunities for foreign entities in this market.

According to Art. 9 of the Government Procurement Law, government procurement must facilitate the achievement of China's policies for economic and social development, including but not limited to environmental protection, assistance to underdeveloped or ethnic minority areas, and the promotion of SMEs.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has issued a Notification on Further Supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Public Procurement (MOF Announcement No. 19) in response to the State Council's Notification on a Package of Policy Measures to Stabilize the Economy (Guo Fa 2022 No.12). This announcement outlines three primary directives for relevant procuring entities: (i) strict implementation of public procurement policies supporting SMEs; (ii) enhancement of price preferences for SMEs; (iii) augmentation of the proportion of reserves allocated for SMEs.
Furthermore, MOF Announcement No. 19 introduces significant modifications to the preferential treatment of SMEs in public procurement. The price deduction preferential rate for small and micro enterprises in goods and service procurement projects has been increased from the previously stipulated 6%-10% (as per Document No. 46 of Caiku 2020) to 10%-20%. Moreover, for large and medium-sized enterprises that form consortia with or subcontract to small and micro enterprises, the preferential rate has been elevated from 2%-3% to 4%-6%.

It is reported that under both its government procurement and tendering and bidding regimes, China continues to implement policies favouring products, services, and technologies made or developed by Chinese-owned and Chinese-controlled companies through explicit and implicit requirements. These policies hinder foreign companies from competing fairly in China. Despite China's commitment to equal treatment, foreign companies report instances where tendering documents mandate "domestic brands" and "indigenous designs." Since China has not yet established clear rules on what constitutes a "domestic product," procurement officials often prefer to err on the side of caution and purchase products from domestic Chinese companies.

China is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2002.

In accordance with Special Management Measure No. 14 of the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access (2021 Edition), foreign investors are prohibited from holding more than 50% equity interest in any enterprise engaged in value-added telecommunication services, with the exception of e-commerce, domestic multi-party communication services, store-and-forward services, and call centre services. Similarly, Art. 6 of the Provisions on the Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises stipulates that foreign investors may not hold more than 50% equity interest in enterprises conducting value-added telecommunication services, unless otherwise prescribed by the state. This provision was revised in 2022 to include the exception “unless otherwise prescribed by the State,” aligning with national and local regulations aimed at further relaxing restrictions on the proportion of foreign ownership in the telecommunications sector. As specified in Art. 8 of the Telecommunications Regulations, value-added telecom businesses refer to telecommunication and information services provided through public network infrastructure. These services include electronic mail, voice mailboxes, online database storage and retrieval, electronic data interchange, online data processing and transaction processing, value-added fax, internet service provision (ISP), internet content provision (ICP), and video teleconferencing.

China is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

According to Art. 6 of the Provisions on Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises and Section VII of the Negative List 2021, for foreign-funded telecommunications enterprises operating value-added telecommunications services (including online database storing and searching; electronic data exchange; online data processing and transactions processing; domestic multiparty communication services; IP-VPN; ISP; ICP and video teleconferencing), the proportion of foreign investors' capital contribution in the enterprise shall not exceed 50% in the end. An exception applies to e-commerce, for which 100% foreign equity and ownership is allowed. Furthermore, the proportion of capital contribution between Chinese investors and foreign investors in foreign-invested telecommunications enterprises in different periods shall be determined by the industry and information technology department of the State Council in accordance with relevant regulations.
In addition, according to Art. 5 of the Provisions on Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises, if the enterprise is engaged in the basic telecom business within a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, it shall have a registered capital of not less than 100 million yuan (approx. USD 14,000,000). However, if the enterprise is engaged in the basic telecom business nationwide or beyond a single province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, it shall have a registered capital of not less than 1 billion yuan (approx. USD 140,000,000).
Under the Special Management Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) 2021, authorities must treat foreign investors with the same degree of accommodation as domestic investors unless set out otherwise in the negative list. While no caps have been set out in the negative list with regard to basic telecommunication services, the negative list provides that the basic telecommunication business must be controlled by the Chinese party.

In April 2007, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China announced anti-dumping duties on electrolytic capacitor paper (HS 480511, 480591) imported from Japan. This measure was revised and extended in April 2013 and then in April 2019. The rate of duty imposed ranges from 15% to 40.83%, depending on the company.

Internet news collecting, editing and publishing services are reserved for State media (or its controlled subsidiaries) and news media controlled by the Party news department. Private investment is expressly prohibited in news collecting and editing services.
As per the 2021 Negative List, investment in internet news services is prohibited. It also provides that the printing of publications must be controlled by the Chinese Party.
The New Regulations also provide that the Government may have a “special management share” in certain internet news providers. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) does not elabourate on the meaning of the special management share. It is understood that the Government could use any special management share in an Internet News Provider to retain control over specific issues. It is unclear whether the regime would apply to all types of Internet News Providers, including privately-owned ones.
Additionally, the Provisions on the Management of Internet News Services issued by the CAC, like the old rules, ban Sino-foreign equity joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperative joint ventures, or wholly foreign-invested enterprises from engaging in the Internet news industry. Any cooperation involving internet-based news information services and foreign-invested enterprises must be reported to the national CAC for security assessment.
The Provisions on the Management of Internet News Services also broadened the definition of “internet news information services” to “services of collecting, editing, and releasing internet news information; reposting such news information; and providing a platform to spread such news information.” They also broaden the definition of “news information” to include relevant reports and commentaries on politics, the economy, military affairs, foreign affairs, and other public affairs, as well as relevant reports and commentaries on social emergencies.

In August 2014, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM) announced anti-dumping duties on single-mode optical fibres imported from India. In August 2020, the MOFCOM reported that it would continue to impose antidumping duties for another five years. This measure was revised and extended in April 2020 for another five years. The rate of duty imposed ranges from 7.4% to 30.6%, depending on the company.

Under the Negative list 2021, foreign investment in radio stations, television stations, radio and television transmission networks, radio and television satellites, satellite uplink stations, satellite receiving stations, microwave stations, internet audio-visual program services, cyberculture operations (except for music) and internet information dissemination services (except for contents opened up in China's WTO commitments) is prohibited. It is also forbidden to engage in the business of video broadcasting by order of radio and TV and the installation services of ground receiving facilities for satellite TV broadcasting.

In July 2018, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM) announced anti-dumping duties on optical fibre preform imported from Japan and the United States. Optical fibre preforms are considered intermediary ICT goods. They are used in the production of optical fibre, which is then utilised in various ICT goods and infrastructure such as internet networks, telecommunications systems, and data centres. Imports from Japan are subject to rates ranging from 14.4% to 31.2%, while those from the United States are subject to rates between 17.4% and 41.7%.

The 2015 Foreign Investment Industrial Guidance Catalogue explicitly prohibits foreign investment in internet publishing, including online gaming (Art. 2), thereby designating this digital content sector as off-limits to foreign capital.

In January 2005, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China announced anti-dumping duties on non-displacement single-mode optical fibres (used, for example, for long-distance telephony and multichannel television broadcasting systems) (HS code: 9001.1000) imported from Japan and South Korea. This measure was reviewed and extended in January 2011 and, subsequently, in January 2017 and January 2022. The rate of duty imposed on imports originating in Japan is 46%, while imports originating in South Korea range from 7.9% to 46%, depending on the company.