In recent years, the rapid development and adoption of technologies and the expansion of the digital economy have gone hand in hand with the processing of vast amounts of personal data. Cross-border data flows can bring many benefits to businesses and citizens but are at the same time accompanied by concerns and risks. This dissertation focuses on cross-border data flows from the EU to China and aims to provide a comprehensive and systematic legal assessment and empirical study of EU citizens’ data protection rights in this process.

This research asks how the right to data protection of EU citizens is and should be ensured when personal data are transferred from the EU to China. This research contributes to navigating the legal requirements and challenges in practice, as well as providing recommendations on the policymaking level.

Dr. Yueming Zhang joined the research group Law & Technology at Ghent University as a doctoral researcher in 2019. She obtained her PhD degree from Ghent University in 2023. Her research focuses on privacy, data protection, and cross-border data transfers.