On October 23, 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology ("MIIT") launched a pilot program expanding
foreign access to value-added telecommunications services in four
pilot regions, namely, Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan, and
Shenzhen. Foreign enterprises participating in this pilot
program can now wholly own and operate internet data centers (IDCs)
and engage in online data processing and transaction handling
businesses, which would give them opportunities to participate more
extensively in China's computing power and cloud service
markets.
Earlier this year on April 8, MIIT released the "Notice on
Launching a Pilot Program to Expand Foreign Access to Value-Added
Telecommunications Services" (the "Notice").
According to the Notice, the pilot regions will lift foreign
ownership restrictions for IDCs, content distribution networks
(CDNs), internet access services (ISPs), online data processing and
transaction handling, information services for publishing