A staff member checks equipment at a data center of China Mobile in Horinger, Hohhot City, north China's Inner Mongolia, Nov. 28, 2023. (Photo: Xinhua)

 
China plans to significantly expand the supply of public data resources, an official said on Thursday, after the country made its first systematic deployment of public data resource development and utilization at the central government level.

The National Data Administration (NDA) is working with relevant government departments to thoroughly plan the development and utilization of public data in areas such as meteorology, and a large volume of high-quality public data will be made available in due course, Liu Liehong, head of the NDA, said at a press conference.

By 2030, a comprehensive system for the development and utilization of public data resources will be set up, to ensure compliant and efficient data circulation and use, according to a guideline jointly released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on Wednesday.

Accelerating the development and utilization of the data resources is a pioneering initiative for deepening the market-oriented reform of data use, which is necessary for fostering a unified national data market, and a key step in leveraging digitalization to promote high-quality economic and social development, Liu noted.

Data infrastructure has been built at an accelerated pace, and achievements have been made in data sharing and openness, said Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences. "The guideline will further unleash the role of public data in empowering the real economy, expanding consumer demand, broadening investment opportunities, and enhancing governance, which is expected to provide solid support for the expansion of China's digital economy while shoring up its competitive edge." 

"For public data involving personal information, the operating entities must comply with China's Personal Information Protection Law, applying desensitization and anonymization to prevent infringement of personal data. The deeper the development and utilization of the data resources, the stronger the focus must be on data security and personal information protection," Zhang Wang, an official with the NDA, said.

Global Times