During the ongoing two sessions, a national political advisor said that the emergence of SORA will bring huge impact, and it is recommended that China build offshore data centers in the port, and prioritize access for trial groups.

In recent years, China has continuously improved the circulation mechanism of data elements, and has promulgated laws and regulations such as the Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law. However, it is worth noting that in practice, China still has some problems with the cross-border flow of data, according to Zhou Hanmin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association.

One one hand, the criteria for evaluating and recognizing crucial data remain ambiguous. Current laws and regulations have yet to provide a distinct definition of crucial data, resulting in a lack of clear reference standards for enterprises to differentiate between collected data and crucial data, Zhou noted.

One the other hand, there are numerous regulations governing cross-border data flow, but a lack of corresponding functional clarity and the varying levels of expertise required for different types of data have led to difficulties in cross-departmental and central-local coordination. This, in turn, impedes the efficient response to diverse cross-border data flow needs of the market.

In this context, Zhou suggested that the local big data regulatory authorities should assume a leadership role, establishing a cross-departmental coordination mechanism for cross-border data flow, and develop a classified supervision model involving various departments. By leveraging the expertise of the competent departments across different industries, it can facilitate the cross-border data flow of enterprises and foster the high-quality development of cross-border data flow in China.

Talking about the emergence of Sora, Zhou said that it will have a huge impact on the use of data, and suggested that some groups are given priority access, because the more we do not understand, the more dangerous it is.

In this regard, he suggested exploring the construction of offshore data centers. After accumulating some experience in the operation of offshore data centers and in the cross-border data flow mechanism, combining with the actual situation of China, we can propose a domestic plan which allows China to gain greater international influence and compatibility, and promote the establishment of a system of rules for cross-border data flow between countries along the Belt and Road Initiative that is accessible and secure, helping to consolidate global standards, he said.