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This paper aims to analyze the direction and balance of transnational information flows and look at how nonpriced digital information exchanges related to international trade in goods and services.

The authors obtained quantitative data about Web-related data flows between countries and regions using Telegeography data on “Server Location as a Percentage of Top Websites.” They then explore how those flows are correlated to trade in goods.

Web traffic is highly transnational. More than half of the top 100 websites in 9 of the world’s 13 sub-regions are hosted in the USA. More than 15 per cent of the top 100 websites in 9 of the 13 subregions are hosted in Western Europe. East Asia has the largest negative balance in the relationship between incoming and outgoing Web requests. The authors found a very strong negative correlation (−0.878) between Web traffic balances and the balance of trade in goods across all subregions. A similarly strong positive correlation was found with services trade; however, the incompleteness of the data does not allow for strong conclusions yet.

Further research is needed to correlate Web traffic flows with capital flows. The authors also do not have a well-developed theory to explain the strong negative correlation between information flows and goods trade.

The data and analysis have useful implications for digital economy policy. It indicates that digital protectionism of the sort practice by China may succeed in increasing domestic producers’ share of Web requests, but does not make them globally competitive. The strong negative correlation between the balance of unpriced Web information and the balance of trade in goods indicates interdependence rather than domination, challenging narratives that information flow imbalances are caused by market power of the big platforms.

The paper demonstrates the degree to which unpriced digital exchanges are transnational and how various countries are more or less globally competitive in the supply of information that the rest of the world finds attractive.

No other published papers have used the data on website traffic data, and previous research has not explored empirically the correlation between information flows and goods trade.

This paper outlines the rapid rise of China's fintech companies over the past decade with a focus on their globalization strategies as they enter their next phase of development.

The author examines China's current and prospective influence on global financial digitization trends, and assesses both domestic and foreign opportunities and challenges confronted by China's fintech firms as they look to expand abroad.

The Chinese government is experimenting with a radically new fintech system and a regulatory regime in response to it. Chinese ambitions to expand fintech influence through private companies and the state-led “digital RMB” (e-CNY) will likely provoke a wave of “digital protectionism” among developed nations to protect internal digital payments.

This paper is an original economic history research on China's fintech industry.

In Latin America, digital trade is still a marginal issue in the internet policy and governance debate, as well as in the trade regime. However, there are signs that this is beginning to change. This paper aims to discuss why this is changing and how, against the backdrop of the internet governance field.

The research has used a mixed methods approach based on interviews and participant observation in one regional process, as well as an extensive literature review and document analysis.

There is a current scenario for expanding the digital trade agenda in the regional commercial blocs with the aim of rapidly incorporating them to a process of digitization that will be challenging their economic foundations. The tangibility of the impact of the expanding digital economy is much more prevalent than other internet governance debates, and these initiatives seem to be adopting a pragmatic approach, rather than questioning the existing rules that govern the trade and the internet regimes. There are significant challenges emerging from a fragmented institutional background for trade-related policy in the region and the digital single market might be one of the solutions. Finally, domestic coordination among competing laws regarding data protection and their enforcement without conflicting with cross border data flows will be a challenge to be addressed.

There is a lack of evidence-based research on the subject in the region. Many of the accounts stem from normative perspectives (many from scholars with legal backgrounds). This paper explores the connections between the internet governance regime and the emerging digital trade based on existing policies and processes.

Companies, governments and individuals are using data to create new services such as apps, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). These data-driven services rely on large pools of data and a relatively unhindered flow of data across borders (few market access or governance barriers). The current approach to governing cross-border data flows through trade agreements and has not led to binding, universal or interoperable rules governing the use of data. The purpose of this article is to explain the new role of data in trade and to explain why data in trade is different from trade in other goods and services. We then suggest a new approach at the national and international levels.

The author uses a mixed methods approach to examine what the literature says about data as a traded good and or service, examines metaphors regarding the role of data in the economy, and then examines whether or not data is really “traded.”

Many countries do not know how to regulate data driven services. There is no consensus on what the appropriate regulatory environment looks like, nor is there a consensus on what are the barriers to cross-border data flows and what constitutes legitimate domestic regulation.

This is the first article to explain both the unique nature of data and the ineffectiveness of the trade system to address that distinctiveness.

This paper aims to highlight in particular one commercially influential but subtle constituent of China’s mercantilist stratagem – asymmetrical internet access. The wider aim of the paper is to provide a solid basis of real-world facts and knowledge to the e-commerce discussions at the World Trade Organization and the ongoing plurilateral e-commerce negotiations.

This paper uses an empirical approach to reflect the general experiences of consumers connecting from China to e-commerce platform websites in other countries and vice versa consumers connecting from other countries to China’s e-commerce platform.

The empirical data show that Chinese potential customers trying to connect to the websites of foreign internet retailers in 17 other sample countries are faced with prohibitively long waiting times. In contrast, the average waiting time that it takes for customers in those other 17 countries to link up to China’s major internet retail platforms is much shorter.

The hard evidence presented here serves to strengthen the arguments that such internet censorship is used by China to establish unfair e-commerce advantage. This paper further argues that the General Agreement on Trade in Services is restrained from providing systemic solutions to the digital mercantilism problem. It is essential, therefore, that the ongoing plurilateral e-commerce negotiations address this issue.

This paper is the first to publish detailed results of a systematic survey designed to analyze the impact of asymmetrical internet access in China. It is also the first to examine the extent and effect of differing internet connection speeds in the context of international trade. The outcome of the survey provides a factual base for future rule-making at the multilateral level.

As a countermeasure to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are implementing social distancing and mask-wearing. In this situation, the use of digital devices and untact activities are increasing. As a result, domestic and international e-commerce is increasing, and data is growing rapidly. Developed countries with advanced artificial intelligence and big data technologies have been striving to establish international regulations for digital trade in order to create a business environment that is advantageous for their own companies. This paper examines the e-commerce trend since the outbreak of COVID-19 and analyzes major issues related to digital trade rules under discussion. In particular, this paper pointed out that although Korea is recognized to be an advanced country considering its stage of industrial development and income level, the nation maintains the position of developing countries regarding digital trade. Based on this, this paper attempted to draw implications for the development of Korea's digital trade in the post COVID-19 world.

The paper aims to explore the national security implications of a potential for a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute on data flow restrictions. It proposes a basic conceptual framework to assess data flows’ restrictions under General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) security exception.

If a case were to be brought before the WTO dispute settlement, the defender could support its case by invoking the security exception. This paper analyzes three main arguments that could be brought up: protection from cyber espionage, protection from cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and access to data needed to prevent terrorist threats. These three cases are analyzed both legally and technically to assess the relevance of restrictions on data flows under GATS security exception. This analysis can, more generally, inform the debate on the protection of national security in the digital era.

In the three cases, restrictions on data considered critical for national security might raise the cost of certain attacks. However, the risks would remain pervasive and national security would not be significantly enhanced both legally and technically. The implementation of good security standards and encryption techniques appears to be a more effective way to ensure a better response to cyber threats. All in all, it will be important to investigate on a case by case basis whether the scope of the measure (sectors and data covered) is considered proportionate and whether the measure in question in practice reduces the exposure of the country to cyber espionage, cyberattacks and terrorist threats.

This paper represents a contribution to the literature because it is the first paper to address systematically the issue of data flows and national security in the context of a GATS dispute and because it provides a unique perspective that looks both at legal and technical arguments.