Chen Jiajv, Li Wei
School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China.
School of Law, Jinan University, No.601 West Huangpu Avenue, Tianhe District, Guangzhou City, 510632, Guangdong Province, China.
Hum Genet. 2025 Jul;144(7):715-725. doi: 10.1007/s00439-025-02756-8. Epub 2025 Jun 9.
Cross-border transfer of human genetic data is a crucial prerequisite for sharing such data globally. However, given the unique nature of human genetic data, this aspiration may not be easily realized. China, a country rich in biological resources, possesses a vast wealth of human genetic data. However, due to China's domestic laws and policies, human genetic data is considered both personal information, subject to regulations like the Personal Information Protection Law, and human genetic resources, governed by the Regulations on Management of Human Genetic Resources. This dual nature necessitates a double security review of human genetic data for cross-border transfer, rendering cross-border transfer of China's human genetic data a seemingly impossible mission. However, in recent years, China has refined its security review rules for cross-border data transfer to increase transparency and, in practice, has eased review criteria, issuing numerous administrative licenses. Such a shift of stance is not fortuitous but rather a planned and purposeful reflection of China's top-level design to promote self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology, as well as its strategic goal of joining international digital economy organizations.
人类遗传数据的跨境传输是在全球范围内共享此类数据的关键前提。然而，鉴于人类遗传数据的独特性质，这一愿望可能不易实现。中国作为一个生物资源丰富的国家，拥有大量的人类遗传数据。然而，由于中国的国内法律法规，人类遗传数据既被视为个人信息，受《个人信息保护法》等法规的约束，又被视为人遗传资源，受《人类遗传资源管理条例》的管辖。这种双重性质使得人类遗传数据的跨境传输必须经过双重安全审查，这使得中国人类遗传数据的跨境传输似乎成为一项不可能完成的任务。然而，近年来，中国完善了跨境数据传输的安全审查规则，以提高透明度，并且在实践中放宽了审查标准，发放了大量行政许可。这种立场的转变并非偶然，而是中国为推动科技自立自强以及加入国际数字经济组织的战略目标而进行的顶层设计的有计划、有目的的体现。
