File photo: Charles Li Xiaojia, HKEX chief executive

China could relax data management to boost the development of industries, contributing to the next-round global economic development with the country’s strong data accumulation and technological soft power, Charles Li Xiaojia, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) as well as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), suggested in his proposal. 

According to the proposal obtained by the Global Times, Li said China has an opportunity to get ahead of other economies by taking advantage of big data in the post-pandemic and de-globalization era.

In terms of the high-profile issue of data security and privacy protection, Li suggested breaking the traditional constraint of “any behavior outside the law shall not be done,” and accepting a modern principle of “any behavior the law does not forbid can be done.”

“The development of biotechnology is badly in need of support from healthcare data. The prevention and control work during the coronavirus epidemic made the concession of part of the privacy and information protection rights possible, for the sake of public health security,” he noted. 

The Hong Kong official suggested starting a trial for data application in the healthcare industry because of its great value and economic benefits. 

Under the premise of privacy protection, maybe the government could charge part of the added-value tax by using medical data to subsidize medical insurance spending, he said. 

China is more digitalized, internet-enabled and capable of utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technology and big data than any other country in the world, Li wrote in the proposal.

Also, China is more qualified to reshape the world and enhance global leadership due to core technology and industrial scale, he added. 

On April 9, the Communist Party of China's Central Committee and the State Council issued a policy vowing to promote sharing and openness of data, enhance the value of social data resources, and strengthen the integration of data resources, data security and protection. 

The industry is very eager for a regulatory framework for information security and privacy protection and hopes the government could focus on it and clarify the relevant boundaries as soon as possible, Li noted. 

For instance, the framework should address that data involved in national security should not be shared or traded, and what kinds of content should not be shared or exchanged out of “security” or “privacy” concerns, he said, adding that relevant policies and rules should be unified at the national level.

As the chief executive of HKEX, Li also advised nurturing a market-oriented data trading ecosystem supported by a sound capital market and financial instruments to play a role of “accelerator” and “blood donor center.”

China launched a new infrastructure initiative with total investment of 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) over six years to 2025, expecting to drive technology such as 5G wireless networks, big data and AI, with experts saying China is capable of overtaking the US in the tech sector. 

The CPPCC is China’s top political advisory body. The opening ceremony of the 3rd session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee was held on Thursday afternoon. 


Global Times