Public data platform prepares for launch

China is ramping up efforts to explore the authorized operation of public data and expand the application scenarios for data resources, as part of its broader push to fully unleash the value of data elements and facilitate the high-quality growth of the country's digital economy, said the country's top data governance regulator.

The national public data resource registration platform will be officially launched and come into trial operation on March 1, while the Zhejiang provincial platform will be unveiled simultaneously with the national platform, Chen Ronghui, deputy head of the National Data Administration, said at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Chen stressed the platform not only serves as a management system for public data resources, but also a portal for information disclosure and data discovery, adding the administration aims to build a national public data resources registration system within this year.

Once the platform is operational, data providers will be able to publish information about data resources and products, while data users can search for data, he said.

He noted that the authorized operation of data, as a new way of data supply, refers to introducing professional forces to manage and process public data, as well as build data products and services, so as to better meet society's demand for data and bolster the development of the digital economy on the premise of ensuring data security.

Highlighting that data has a huge potential and promising prospects in propelling economic and social development, Chen said the NDA will build more application scenarios for data elements and promote the usage of data in a broader range of fields.

China issued a guideline on accelerating the utilization of public data resources in October. The country will take steps to expand the supply of public data resources and promote the opening of public data in an orderly manner, while encouraging and exploring the authorization and operation of public data, according to the guideline.

By the end of 2025, China expects to achieve substantial progress in developing and utilizing public data resources in key industries and regions. By 2030, a comprehensive system for the development and utilization of public data resources will be set up, with compliant and efficient data circulation and use, said the guideline.

Zhu Keli, founding director of the China Institute of New Economy, said the country's heightened efforts to accelerate the development and utilization of public data resources will provide solid support for the sustainable and healthy development of the digital economy, generate new business forms, models and services that are based on data, create more job opportunities and inject new momentum into economic growth.

Statistics from the NDA show that the transaction scale of China's data market is expected to have exceeded 160 billion yuan ($21.98 billion) in 2024, up more than 30 percent year-on-year.

Ouyang Rihui, assistant dean of the China Center for Internet Economy Research at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said data elements are playing an increasingly important role in speeding up industrial upgrades, while emphasizing the need to boost the sharing, circulation and trading of data.

More efforts are needed to step up the supply of public data resources, and promote the efficient and safe flow of data and strengthen data security, he added.