China looking to leverage big data as force for transformation

China will take steps to accelerate the construction of high-quality data sets, and develop the data industry and artificial intelligence, which has been regarded as a main direction for bolstering technological innovation and industrial transformation, according to the country's top data governance regulator.

Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration, said data elements are speeding up their integration with economic and social development, injecting momentum into the transformation of various industries and stimulating innovation vitality.

Liu made the remarks during the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2025, which runs from Thursday to Saturday in Guiyang, the capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province.

"In recent years, the rapid development of AI has led to an explosive increase in demand for data, greatly driving the construction of high-quality data sets and accelerating breakthroughs in technologies such as data annotation, data governance, data mining and analysis, and secure circulation," Liu noted.

He said China has favorable conditions for the development of the data industry, given its world-leading data infrastructure, ever-increasing technological innovation capacities, broad application scenarios, high-quality data sets and supportive policy measures, estimating that the country's data industry is expected to maintain strong growth in the coming years.

China's data sector has made great strides during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period. Statistics from the National Data Development Research Institute show that the number of data-related enterprises in China surpassed 400,000 in 2024, while the market scale of the nation's data industry reached 5.86 trillion yuan ($821.6 billion).

According to Liu, the country had built 4.55 million 5G base stations by the end of June, and the number of gigabit broadband users had reached 226 million. China's computational power ranks second in the world.

Looking ahead, he said the country will enhance the supply capacity of data resources, expand the application scenarios of data in key fields, foster data enterprises, and optimize the layout of the data industry so as to facilitate the development of the digital economy and nurture new quality productive forces.

Dong Jialu, vice-governor of Guizhou province, said the province will vigorously develop the computing power industry with a key focus on intelligent computing, as well as develop the data industry and AI industry centered on industry-specific large models.

More efforts will be made to develop the electronic information industry, with a focus on fostering industries such as electronic components, computing hardware manufacturing, and intelligent terminal manufacturing, Dong said.

Often dubbed China's big data hub, the mountainous province of Guizhou is the country's first national big data comprehensive pilot zone, and has been promoting the big data industry as the backbone of the province's high-quality social and economic development.

Zhang Dong, vice-president of China Mobile, said AI is integrating into various areas of the economy and society at an unprecedented speed, and the robust development of AI has brought about new opportunities to the data industry.

Zhang said the company will press ahead with the construction of information infrastructure, provide diversified information services such as computing power, data and models, expand the supply of high-quality data resources, and promote the integrated development of data applications.

China unveiled a plan for the overall layout of the country's digital development in 2023, vowing to make important progress in the construction of a "Digital China" by the end of 2025.

Mei Hong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said digital transformation in traditional industries, such as manufacturing, transportation and energy, has become the main battlefield in the development of the digital economy.

He underscored the importance of establishing a data elements market, promoting the confirmation of data-related rights, and exploring a data pricing mechanism and value assessment system to give full play to the massive value of data.

According to the National Data Administration, the nation's total data output reached 41.06 zettabytes last year, up 25 percent year-on-year, while the added value of core industries of the digital economy accounted for about 10 percent of GDP.