To facilitate the safe and orderly flow of data elements, and to promote the development of digital economy, Lei Wai Nong, Secretary for Economy and Finance, and Wang Jingtao, Vice Minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), signed on 9 September 2024, the Memorandum of Understanding on Facilitating Cross-boundary Data Flow within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area between the Cyberspace Administration of the People’s Republic of China and the Secretariat for Economy and Finance of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MoU) in Guangzhou. 

The SAR Government is committed to improving the mechanism for the flow of data innovation elements. A cross-departmental working group comprised of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau, the Personal Data Protection Bureau, the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, the Judiciary Police and the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau has been formed to jointly take forward the work related to facilitating the cooperation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in cross-boundary flow of data. The signing of the MoU is conducive to enhancing the cross-boundary flow of data between the Mainland and Macao and fully leveraging the fundamental functions of data, thereby promoting the innovative development of digital economy within the GBA and strengthening the industrial competitiveness and the technology and innovation capabilities.

On the basis of the MoU, the SAR Government and the Mainland have introduced the measure for mutual recognition of the Standard Contract for the Cross-boundary Flow of Personal Information within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In the future, the SAR Government will also take into account the society’s need for cross-boundary flow of data to explore with the Mainland introducing more specific facilitation measures for facilitating the orderly flow, development and utilization of data resources, thereby lowering enterprises’ cost of compliance in processing cross-boundary data and enhancing their competitiveness. On the premises of protecting personal information safety, the two sides will continue to facilitate the safe and orderly flow of personal information data within the GBA.

The signing of the MoU is an important achievement of the cooperation between the SAR Government and CAC in the area of cross-boundary data flow, and will inject new impetus into the innovative development of the digital economy of the GBA and Macao.