Research on the legal regulation of cross-border data flows in the context of the digital economy: start with the "Trilemma Theory"

Against the backdrop of globalization's deepening evolution, the profound coupling between cross-border data flows and digital economic development is reshaping the global economic landscape. This dual-edged effect concurrently poses multidimensional risks to national data sovereignty, societal public security, and individual citizens' rights. Confronted with governing cross-border data flows, nations face the predicament of being unable to simultaneously achieve data protection sovereignty, unrestricted cross-border data flow, and data protection. Based on this, this article employs the "Trilemma Theory" to systematically deconstruct current global governance variations. It then analyzes the two predominant paradigms formed by the European Union and the United States, revealing their internal logic and oriented goals. Concurrently, it examines the current status and challenges of Chinas cross-border data flow regulation, aiming to explore a governance pathway suited to China. The goal is to build a governance ecosystem that balances high-level data openness with data security protection, serving both the digital economys high-quality development and the safeguarding of national and public core interests.