1. Network Infrastructure
Both AWS China (Beijing) Region and the AWS China (Ningxia) Region have three availability zones each; in addition, there are four POP (Points-of-Presence) sites in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Zhongwei. All regions and POPs are connected to each other via high-speed fiber, which meets the high technical standards of the AWS network infrastructure and delivers consistently reliable performance for customers across the country.
AWS also has a region in Hong Kong and a POP site in Taipei. Taiwan Region (with 3 Available Zones) will be launched in 2025. These are part of the AWS global network and are not directly connected to the AWS China Regions.
The AWS China (Beijing) Region and AWS China (Ningxia) Region are not directly connected to the AWS global network per Chinese governmental regulations. Customers can apply for Amazon Direct Connect (DX) service for better network performance within Chinese mainland. Customers may also use services from AWS Partners to optimize their international network speed.
Considering the overall Chinese customer experience and the requirements of current and future regulations in China, international customers may consider deploying workloads targeted at Chinese end users within AWS China Regions.
2. Data sovereignty and data governance
According to the PRC Data Security Law (“DSL”) and the PRC Personal Information Protection Law (“PIPL”) – certain data that collected and generated in Chinese mainland is subject to data localization requirement, and the cross-border transfer of that data must satisfy certain conditions and procedures as administered by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
3. Security
AWS China Regions and other AWS global regions use the same technology and follow the same rule of “shared responsibility” with our customers on data security. If you store or process data (including personal information or important data) by using services in AWS China Regions, your data will be stored within AWS China regions and will not be moved outside of AWS China Regions except as necessary to comply with the applicable law or requests of governmental or regulatory authorities.
When storing or processing data by using services in AWS China Regions, you are responsible for your content and for security in the cloud, including security of your content and the personal information included in your content, and you are ultimately responsible for your own compliance with the relevant data privacy requirements.
The operators of AWS China Regions are responsible for managing the security of the underlying cloud environment, and implement and maintain technical and organizational security measures applicable to the cloud infrastructure services under both global and China-specific security assurance frameworks and certifications.