20240501 Data Watch

Google and other U.S. tech giants play a key role in laying international undersea cables that bypass Chinese influence. 

More subsea cables bypass China as Sino-U.S. tensions grow

No new projects will connect the country after 2025 as focus shifts to Southeast Asia

TOKYO -- Growing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China have begun to affect the flow of global data due to an expected sharp fall in new undersea cables linking China with the rest of the world.

Once billed as a future hub for subsea networks that form vital arteries of international communication, China is expected to see only three cables laid after this year -- fewer than half the number planned for Singapore. The lack of undersea projects is also expected to weigh on the construction of data centers in the country.

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