China's data industry on fast track to digital future

BEIJING -- With its far-reaching impact across various sectors, the data industry is rapidly evolving into a game-changer in China, contributing to the country's economic growth and digital transformation.

Last year, the total amount of data generated nationwide reached 32 zettabytes, equivalent to the digital resources of over 10 million national libraries, according to the National Data Administration (NDA).

Emerging from the application of data technology to develop products and services, the data industry is an industrial form that spans a broad range of digital activities, including data collection, storage, processing, management, application, circulation and transaction.

As the once abstract concept of "big data" has been widely integrated into business practices, it has unlocked significant opportunities for companies to enhance efficiency and expand their market reach.

The market size of China's database industry exceeded 52 billion yuan (about $7.28 billion) in 2023, and it is expected to reach 93.03 billion yuan by 2028.

This growth is complemented by the data transaction sector, which has experienced stable and rapid expansion in recent years. In 2022, the overall market size of data transactions reached 87.68 billion yuan, accounting for 13.4 percent of the global data market, and is projected to surpass 500 billion yuan by 2030, the industry data showed.

Contributing to this vibrant growth, in the past decade the number of data-driven businesses in China has surged from 110,000 to over 1 million. These enterprises play no small part in maximizing the value of data elements and driving further expansion and innovation across the data industry.

"In this new development stage where data has become a novel factor of production, we are witnessing the emergence of new production factors, new dataspace, and new infrastructure, as well as the rise and evolution of new industry forms," said Zhang Xianghong, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University.

In response to the evolving landscape of the burgeoning sector, Chinese policymakers have turned their attention to supporting, advancing and guiding the development of the data industry.

Although the industry is closely intertwined with information technologies and the internet sector, it has unique development characteristics that require targeted policies, said NDA official Zhang Wang at a recent press conference.

Zhang said the administration is formulating targeted policies for businesses looking to make technological breakthroughs, explore data circulation, and improve infrastructure, which would support a more dynamic and innovative data ecosystem.

According to an action plan jointly released by the NDA with several other government organs at the end of last year, by the end of 2026 the breadth and depth of data element applications in China will significantly expand with the annual growth rate exceeding 20 percent and data transaction scale doubling.

By aligning the burgeoning data industry with its broader digital drive, China has also accelerated advancement in cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), e-commerce, among other digital domains.

The number of valid AI invention patents in China had reached 378,000 by the end of last year, with its growth rate surpassing 40 percent, 1.4 times the global average, according to a report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Essential to these achievements is China's expansive digital infrastructure. The number of 5G base stations in China had risen to nearly 3.92 million by the end of June, representing a net increase of 540,000 over the end of last year.

A recent official report forecasts that as the construction of digital infrastructure accelerates nationwide, the data industry is set to maintain its rapid growth, further permeating other sectors and driving the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries.

Looking ahead, Zhang said the country would fully leverage policy tools to develop the data industry, including implementing tailored measures to bolster investment, nurture talent, and promote industrial clustering in the sector.