The vice governor of Hainan isn’t normally the center of attention at high-profile political meetings like this month’s ‘Two Sessions’ gathering in Beijing. But Xie Jing attempted to seize the national spotlight last week when he submitted an ambitious proposal to turn the island province into the country’s premier hub for cross-border data flows.  Hainan, which has already started construction on China’s first underwater data center, isn’t the only locality vying for a piece of China’s big data pie. The largely rural Guizhou Province, home to over two dozen data centers, has long claimed the title of China’s ‘Big Data Valley.’ Tibet touts the fact that it hosts the world’s highest-altitude data center. And in recent months major cities like Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai have all announced new plans to invest in expanding big data infrastructure. The nationwide focus on big data crystallized this week as China’s government launched a new central bu