What Security Risks Are Associated with China’s Overseas Data Centers?

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As China expands its digital infrastructure globally, the rise of Chinese overseas data centers—in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East—has sparked both economic opportunity and national security concerns. While these data centers support cloud services, AI processing, and cross-border connectivity for Chinese tech giants like Huawei, Alibaba Cloud, and Tencent, they also raise critical questions: Who controls the data? Can it be accessed by the Chinese government? And what happens when geopolitical tension collides with cloud computing?

In this article, we explore the security risks associated with chinese overseas africa database China’s overseas data centers, analyzing technical vulnerabilities, legal obligations, and global regulatory backlash.

1. Data Sovereignty and Government Access
One of the primary concerns with Chinese-operated data centers abroad is the potential for data access by the Chinese government, driven by China’s domestic legal framework:

China’s National Intelligence Law (2017) requires organizations and citizens to "support, assist, and cooperate" with state intelligence efforts when requested.

Cybersecurity Law and Data Security Law mandate that critical data—whether processed domestically or overseas—may be subject to government review if national security is involved.

These legal provisions have led many foreign governments and cybersecurity analysts to fear that data stored in Chinese-managed facilities abroad may be subject to covert surveillance, whether that data belongs to corporations, government agencies, or individuals.

2. Geopolitical Leverage and Infrastructure Control
Chinese overseas data centers are often deployed as part of larger Digital Silk Road initiatives—extending cloud infrastructure to Belt and Road countries. While these investments improve connectivity and reduce digital gaps, they also give China strategic control over key digital infrastructure.

This has led to fears that during periods of geopolitical tension, Chinese data centers might be used for:

Information manipulation or propaganda dissemination

Selective denial of access to cloud services

Disruption of communications infrastructure

Such risks are particularly acute in authoritarian or fragile states, where governments may rely heavily on Chinese cloud services without having the capability to monitor or regulate them.

3. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
Many of China’s overseas data centers depend on Chinese hardware, software, and technical personnel. This raises questions about supply chain trust and potential backdoors:

Firmware or networking equipment could be pre-configured with undocumented access channels.

Updates or patches issued remotely from China could introduce vulnerabilities without local oversight.

Host countries may lack the technical capacity to audit or inspect the full architecture of the data centers.

These concerns are similar to those that led countries like the U.S., U.K., and Australia to ban or restrict Huawei from 5G infrastructure projects.