China will champion the overseas expansion of domestic big data firms while supporting the setup of big data research and development (R&D) centers by multinationals in the country, the minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Xiao Yaqing, said on Thursday at the opening of an annual big data expo in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou Province.

The annual China International Big Data Industry Expo is the latest push for the country's digital economic prowess. The expansion of the digital economy has revitalized China's economic development at large, and multiple measures are in the pipeline to push ahead with the digital economic growth, China Radio International (CRI) reported online on Thursday, citing official remarks at the opening ceremony of the event.

Big data applications have gradually extended into smart manufacturing, digital society and digital governance from an initial focus on the internet, finance and telecommunications, immensely enriching the country's data resources and giving rise to an array of new user scenarios and business models, Xiao said while addressing the expo's opening ceremony, according to CRI.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), China's big data industry recorded an annual average compound growth rate of over 30 percent. Last year, the big data industry surmounted 1.3 trillion yuan ($192.91 billion), with an industrial supply chain beginning to take shape and a raft of industry heavyweights rising to prominence.

The country's digital economy is presently the world's second-largest and its online population has topped the global netizen rankings for 13 years in a row.

Looking ahead, the country will ramp up its digital infrastructure building, expand application scenarios, push for the integration and open sharing of data resources, and deepen pragmatic international cooperation, Xiao said.

The minister pledged to support domestic and overseas big data firms in teaming up in the spheres of technology research and development, standard formulation and intellectual property rights, among other aspects.

The country will endorse domestic firms' moves to explore the international market while supporting multinationals and scientific research institutes in establishing big data R&D and education and training centers in the country, according to Xiao.

He vowed to work with all sides under multilateral and bilateral partnerships to jointly create a fair and open environment for development.

The country will actively take part in international digital economy-themed discussions, carry out digital governance cooperation and deepen the push for the digital Silk Road, thereby allowing for countries and peoples across the globe to benefit from digital economic cooperation, said Lin Nianxiu, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission.

The expo, the world's first big data gathering, was launched in 2015. This year's event, originally planned as a three-day in-person trade show starting Thursday, was rescheduled as a one-day online event amid a domestic outbreak of Omicron.