China unveiled its plans to establish a National Data Bureau, which will assume the crucial responsibility of managing data at a national level.

Since 2013, when President Xi Jinping introduced the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, China has launched several other initiatives, including the Global Initiative on Data Security (GIDS) in September 2020, the Global Development Initiative in September 2021, the Global Security Initiative (GSI) in April 2022, and the Global Civilisation Initiative on March 16 of the current year. While OBOR has garnered significant attention, the other initiatives have received comparatively less focus, partly due to China's lower emphasis on promoting them actively. However, China's historical tendency to persist with its initiatives suggests their enduring nature. For instance, China's claim to the Second Island Chain, once vocally proclaimed, has now vanished from its discourse, but its recent interest in Pacific Island Countries may be seen as an extension of that claim and an effort to distance those nations from Taiwan.

When analyzed together, these initiatives point towards China's aim of creating an alternative security architecture. GIDS, for instance, presents six proposals for countries and two for ICT companies. The first proposal focuses on handling data security in an evidence-based manner and maintaining a secure supply chain of global ICT products and services, likely a response to challenges faced by Chinese companies abroad and restrictions imposed on Chinese apps. The second proposal addresses standing against ICT activities that undermine the critical infrastructure or national security of other states, a potentially defensive move on China's part to deflect cyber espionage accusations. However, China itself has faced cyberattacks, raising questions about its commitment to its proposals.

Other proposals tackle personal information, data localization, data access for law enforcement, and ICT company conduct. While some of these proposals may be difficult for ICT companies to comply with, China invoked the concept of a "community with shared future" to garner support for GIDS, positioning itself as a rule-setter in data management and the digital economy.

Despite not heavily promoting GIDS, China enacted the Data Security Law in 2021 and established the National Data Bureau in March 2023, underscoring the country's emphasis on data management. For India, the ramifications of GIDS lie in areas such as data localization, evidence-based approaches to companies, personal data protection, and data access for law enforcement and supply chain considerations.

In conclusion, these initiatives collectively indicate China's pursuit of an alternative security architecture, and GIDS, along with other related efforts like the Data Security Law and the National Data Bureau, highlights China's increasing focus on data and its management. For India, understanding and responding to these initiatives will be crucial in shaping its approach to data security and cooperation with China in the digital realm.