Pursuant to Art. 7 of the Telecommunications Regulations, the State is required to implement a licensing regime for telecommunications enterprises in accordance with the categorisation of telecommunications services, which, as set out in the Appendix to the Regulations, includes basic telecommunications services. Art. 5.6 of the Administrative Measures on Telecommunications Business Permits further provides that the minimum registered capital for an operator conducting business within a single province, autonomous region, or centrally administered municipality is RMB 100 million (approx. USD 14.5 million), whereas operators providing services nationwide or across multiple such jurisdictions must have a minimum registered capital of RMB 1 billion (approx. USD 145 million). Under Art. 8 of the Telecommunications Regulations, basic telecommunications services are defined as the provision of public network infrastructure, public data transmission services, and basic voice communication services. It is reported that China’s restrictions on basic telecommunications services, including for example the imposition of very high capital requirements, have hindered foreign suppliers from entering the country’s basic telecommunications market.

Arts. 8 and 9 of the "Provisional Regulation of the People’s Republic of China for the Administration of International Networking of Computer Information Networks" require access entities to obtain a licence prior to engaging in either operational or non-operational activities involving international networking, which, under Art. 3, is defined as the connection of domestic computer information networks with foreign networks for the purpose of international information exchange. Art. 6 additionally mandates that any computer information network directly engaging in international networking must rely solely on the international inbound and outbound channels provided by the national public telecommunications network; no entity or individual is permitted to establish independent channels or to utilise any alternative channels for international connectivity.

China has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) acts as the telecommunications authority in the country, and therefore, there is no independence from the government in its decision-making process.

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).

According to Art. 24 of the ¨Regulation on the Administration of the Credit Investigation Industry¨, credit investigation institutions are required to organise, store, and process consumer and commercial data exclusively within the territory of the People’s Republic of China. Similarly, Art. 39 of the ¨Measures for the Administration of Credit Reporting Services¨ mandates that credit investigation agencies engaging in credit investigation activities within China must retain the credit information they collect within national borders.

According to Art. 10 of the "Measures for the Administration of Population Health Information (Trial)", population health information must not be stored on overseas servers. These measures apply to the processing of population health information by medical, health, and family planning services. In addition, Art. 30 of the "Administrative Measures on Standards, Security, and Services of National Healthcare Big Data" stipulates that health and medical data generated within the territory of China must be stored on a secure and reliable server within China. If it is necessary to provide this data overseas due to business requirements, it will be subject to a security assessment and review in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

According to Art. 34 of Map Management Regulations, online maps are required to set up their server inside the country and acquire an official certificate.

It is reported that stakeholders have expressed concern about a confidential 2022 document issued by the State‑owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), known as Document 79, which is understood to set out a phased requirement for the exclusive adoption of “secure and controllable” ICT products across the information systems of the Chinese Government, the Chinese Communist Party and state‑owned enterprises. According to these reports, most government institutions in China are now procuring domestic technologies in preference to foreign solutions, even when the latter may be technologically superior, covering both hardware and software. If fully implemented, Document 79 would result in all governmental entities relying solely on domestic technology by 2027. It is further reported that China has invoked similar “secure and controllable” requirements in various regulatory measures since 2013, some of which have compelled the transfer or disclosure of source code or other forms of intellectual property.

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%.

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.

Section 12 of the "Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access" provides that the foreign shareholding ratio in value‑added telecommunications services, except for e‑commerce, domestic multi‑party communications, store‑and‑forward services, and call centres, must not exceed 50%. According to the "Classification Catalogue of Telecommunications Services", value‑added telecommunications services include Internet data centre services, content delivery network services, domestic Internet protocol virtual private network services, Internet access services, online data processing and transaction processing services, domestic multi‑party communication services, store‑and‑forward services, call centre services, information services, code and regulation conversion services, and Internet domain name resolution services.
In 2024, the Chinese government removed foreign shareholding restrictions on six categories of value‑added telecommunications services within designated pilot areas in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan, and Shenzhen. This policy now permits foreign enterprises to operate independently in the following value‑added telecommunications service sectors within those pilot zones: Internet data centre services, content distribution network services, Internet service provision, online data processing and transaction processing services, information services including information publication and delivery (excluding Internet news, online publishing, online audio‑visual services, and Internet cultural operations), and information protection and processing services. Reports indicate that by February 2025, 13 foreign‑invested enterprises had been granted approval to participate in this scheme.

Art. 6 of the "Administrative Provisions on Foreign‑funded Telecommunications Enterprises" stipulates that, unless otherwise prescribed by the State, the aggregate equity held by foreign investor(s) in a foreign‑funded telecommunications enterprise engaged in basic telecommunications services, excluding radio paging services, may not ultimately exceed 49%, and the "Classification Catalogue of Telecommunications Services" identifies all categories of basic telecommunications services that fall within the scope of this restriction.

Section 13 of the "Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access" stipulates that foreign investment in Internet news and information services, Internet publishing services, Internet audio-visual programme services, and cyber culture operations, excluding music, is prohibited. The prohibition also extends to Internet public information services, except in relation to content that has been liberalised in accordance with China’s commitments under the World Trade Organization.

Section 19 of the "Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access" provides that investment in the following areas shall be prohibited, namely aerial imaging and mapping, real 3D maps, electronic navigational charts, remote sensing geology, and the compilation of topographic maps.