Digital News

　　With 4.55 million 5G base stations, China now ranks second in the world in total computing power, and boasts a data industry valued at 5.86 trillion yuan, up 117% from the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan. The data production has reached 41.06 zettabytes, with more than 35,000 high-quality datasets... At the press conference themed “Delivering High-Quality Results under the 14th Five-Year Plan” held by the State Council Information Office on August 14, Liu Liehong, Director of the National Data Administration, highlighted that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China has deepened market-oriented reforms in the allocation of data elements, accelerated the coordinated digital and green transformation, and made significant strides in building a “Digital China.”

　　Robust Growth Momentum in the Digital Industry

　　The data industry primarily includes activities such as data collection and aggregation, computing and storage, circulation and trading, development and utilization, security governance, and the construction and services of data infrastructure. It is an emerging industry that drives the market-oriented and value-based development of data elements. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s data industry has demonstrated strong growth momentum and significant market potential, emerging as a new engine for the digital economy.

　　Currently, data technologies are rapidly evolving from business intelligence (BI) to artificial intelligence (AI), fostering an industry ecosystem characterized by deep data mining and integrated applications, as well as the high integration of algorithms, computational power, and data. Data-driven innovation in technologies, applications, and industries continues to deepen, with the entire data value chain from collection, storage, and computing to management and utilization undergoing constant renewal and iteration. This has given rise to new models and business forms such as Data-as-a-Service, Knowledge-as-a-Service, and Model-as-a-Service. According to research by the National Data Development Research Institute, in 2024, the average R&D investment of listed data companies was 79% higher than at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan, with an average annual growth rate of 15.7%, highlighting the sustained innovation vitality across the industry chain.

　　Meanwhile, regions across the country are seizing opportunities to accelerate their deployment. The industry is beginning to show features such as resource concentration, technological innovation, application-driven development, and security support. In terms of regions, the Yangtze River Delta has developed a multi-level, full-chain data industry ecosystem, with especially strong agglomeration effects in resource sharing and innovation collaboration. In 2024, this region accounted for 22.6% of China’s total data industry and was home to over 100,000 data enterprises, establishing itself as a key growth pole in the industry.

　　At the city level, major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou boast abundant resources, vibrant technological innovation, and diverse application scenarios, attracting numerous leading enterprises and innovators, and showing a clear trend toward ecosystem-driven industrial clustering. “This year, we plan to launch a series of pilot projects for data industry clusters. These projects will serve as a driving force to further optimize the industrial layout and accelerate the formation of an industry ecosystem and scale advantages,” said Liu Liehong.

　　As a key platform for matching data supply and demand, data infrastructure plays a critical role. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the National Data Administration developed a reference architecture for data infrastructure and introduced nine key technical standards, including anonymization. To date, 25 city nodes have been established, data infrastructure architectures have been rolled out across 16 provinces, and full interconnectivity was achieved by the end of July.

　　“Over 2,000 entities have been connected, including data exchanges, data developers, and organizations providing, managing, or using data. More than 1,200 industry, academic, and research organizations have actively participated in the development of infrastructure standards, building a broad consensus. On the application side, the infrastructure supports hundreds of scenarios, including government affairs management and financial risk management, with nearly 10,000 data products made available. This has fostered a healthy industry development trend, focused on the construction and operation of data infrastructure and security support,” said Xia Bing, Deputy Director of the National Data Administration.

　　Continuous Improvement of Data Resource Development and Utilization

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the construction of data resource management systems, as well as the data development and utilization effectiveness and level, have all reached new heights. In 2024, China’s data production reached 41.06 zettabytes, twice the level at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan, with per capita production 2.2 times higher.

　　“We are accelerating the development of systems for the management, development, and utilization of data resources,” said Chen Ronghui, Deputy Director of the National Data Administration. For public data, the Opinions on Accelerating the Development and Utilization of Public Data Resources has been released, and policies covering resource registration, authorized operation, and pricing mechanisms have also been implemented. At the provincial and municipal levels, over 87 policies on the authorized operation of public data have been introduced, enhancing the standardization and efficiency of government data sharing as well as the development and authorized use of public data. The national registration platform has seen rapid growth in registered resources, products, and services. It now spans over 78 major sectors of the economy, covering more than 6 petabytes of data, and offers convenient, authoritative channels for accessing and using data.

　　For enterprise data, the National Data Administration has issued dedicated policies to advance trusted data space pilots across 22 industries and 28 enterprises. It has also launched initiatives to improve data efficiency in state-owned enterprises, creating a policy “package” that breaks down data silos and promotes the flow of elements, effectively giving enterprises a “boost” in developing data and embracing the wave of digital intelligence.

　　The development of data resources cannot proceed without practical application scenarios. To this end, the National Data Administration has launched initiatives such as “Data Elements X” and “Public Data Sharing,” showcasing 70 demonstration scenarios across key sectors, including smart agriculture, healthcare, and transportation and logistics, delivering a range of tangible, accessible outcomes.

　　In the industry, over 14,000 products and services have been developed using meteorological data, supporting nearly 130,000 application scenarios. At the local level, several cities have implemented government–enterprise data partnerships to enable intelligent traffic signal control, helping to reduce congestion. On the market side, apparel companies are using consumer data to drive personalized design and production. The entire process from designing and placing an order to manufacturing and delivery can be completed in just three days. This data-driven, flexible supply chain model is boosting the competitiveness of “Made in China.”

　　Digital Benefits for All

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the accelerated application of digital technologies in China has profoundly transformed the ways people work and live, as well as how society is governed, significantly improving access to public services and steadily enhancing the people’s livelihood.

　　Public services have been more inclusive and accessible. Smart healthcare services are expanding rapidly. Internet hospitals nationwide handle over 100 million visits annually, more than 1.2 billion people use the national medical insurance code, and 560 million patients have benefited from direct cross-provincial medical settlements. Digital social security services are also extending their reach and improving efficiency, with 1.07 billion people now holding electronic social security cards, covering more than 75% of the population. Urban clusters such as the Yangtze River Delta and Chengdu-Chongqing regions are gradually enabling regional service connectivity through an “all-in-one card.” China has also made significant strides in digital elderly care services. The quality of digital services for seniors, such as Internet application adaptations and “one-click access to human customer service,” has steadily improved. The launch of the national elderly care service information platform has further facilitated efficient matching between supply and demand of elderly care resources.

　　Social governance has become more targeted and efficient. ‘“One-stop government services’ have entered a new phase of institutionalized, routine operation, enabling more issues to be settled through data exchange and saving citizens unnecessary visits,” Liu Liehong told the reporter. In the past, handling newborn registration services required shuttling between multiple agencies to submit related documents. Now, with information filed online and shared across agencies, several services can be efficiently completed in just a few days.

　　In addition, the “integrated network for urban operations” continues to expand, with applications such as intelligent disaster warnings delivering tangible results. Urban governance is moving from “fragmented control” to “citywide coordination,” comprehensively enhancing smart governance, resilience, and security. Data sharing across departments and levels is advancing, with deeper service collaboration and an expanding range of “access without application” scenarios in both public and enterprise services.

　　Digital life has been better and smarter. In terms of smart cultural tourism, all national 5A-level scenic areas have completed their digital transformation. New technologies such as digital twins and virtual reality are making China’s millennia-old cultural heritage more accessible than ever. Community services are becoming increasingly intelligent, with functions like “one-click assistance” for seniors now accessible at their fingertips. Applications such as smart home health management and remote consultations are adding a warmer, more personal touch to community life.

　　“Next, we will fully leverage the amplifying, compounding, and multiplying power of data elements, with the improvement of people’s well-being as both our starting point and ultimate goal. We will focus on advancing the digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of public services, digital life, and social governance, generating tangible achievements in building a digital society,” said Chen Ronghui.