Hu Jianbo, President of the National Data Development Research Institute: Unleashing the Multiplier Effect of Data Elements to Shape New Advantages for High-Quality Development

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that the world today is accelerating into the intelligent era, and the foundational resource role and innovation engine role of data are becoming increasingly evident. The "15th Five-Year Plan" Outline makes important deployments around improving the foundational systems for data elements, building an open, shared, and secure nationally integrated data market, and deepening the development and utilization of data resources, fully reflecting the strategic foresight of the Party Central Committee in taking the overall situation into account and grasping the general trend.

Since its establishment, the National Data Administration has earnestly studied and understood General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on data development and security, implemented the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and formed the "531" work implementation system—the "5" combination punches of systems, facilities, scenarios, market, and industry working together in a coordinated manner, the "3" major foundations of technology, talent, and standards providing coordinated support, and the "1" key priority of data empowering the innovative development of artificial intelligence being advanced in depth. The data field is showing a good momentum of accelerated construction of the institutional system, continuous expansion of resource scale, deepening and solid progress of integrated applications, and vigorous rise of the industrial ecosystem.

The process of marketization and valorization of data elements has accelerated markedly, with obvious results in empowering high-quality development. The value of data elements is being released at an accelerated pace, providing solid support for high-quality development.

China's data resource scale has maintained rapid growth, and the capacity of data to be "supplied, circulated, used well, and kept secure" has been continuously improved. In 2025, the national annual total data production reached 52.26 zettabytes (ZB), a year-on-year increase of 27.28%, accounting for about 27.44% of global total data production. Enterprises have become the main force in data production, with about 90% of the incremental data production coming from enterprise data. Data production in industries such as industrial manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and software and information technology services grew relatively large, and data production in emerging fields such as embodied intelligence and the low-altitude economy grew by 477.78% and 75% respectively.

Institutional and facility innovation jointly support the efficient circulation and utilization of data resources. On the basis of the foundational data system framework established by the "Data Twenty Articles," policies on data property rights, the development and utilization of public data resources, and high-quality development of the digital economy have been introduced successively. In September this year, the National Data Property Rights Registration Platform was launched and put into operation, and the nationally unified data property rights registration system entered a new stage of implementation. The "Eastern Data, Western Computing" project has been fully implemented, and the nationally integrated computing power network is being built at an accelerated pace. As of August 2026, the national total scale of intelligent computing reached 2.49 million PFLOPS, ranking second in the world, and the intelligent computing scale already built in the eight national computing hubs accounted for more than 80% of the national total. The pilot work on data infrastructure construction has been solidly advanced. As of August 2026, data infrastructure had connected more than 40,000 entities and listed more than 70,000 products. Applications and dynamic optimization of multiple technical routes such as trusted data spaces, privacy-preserving computing, and blockchain have been promoted, covering 20 industries and 59 cities in total.

The photo shows servers at the Huaihai Artificial Intelligence Computing Center in the Computing Power Industrial Park of Suzhou City, Anhui Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Bohan

Data empowering all industries has shown increasingly evident results. The National Data Administration, together with more than 20 departments, has jointly promoted the "Data Elements ×" initiative, and has released 417 typical cases and 760 subdivided application scenarios, providing practical examples for data empowering all industries. Over the past three years, the scale of participation in the "Data Elements ×" competition has expanded year by year, and the number of participants has climbed continuously, attracting more than 70,000 teams and 360,000 people in total, and the effect of promoting application and production through competition has been brought into play at an accelerated pace. In the industrial field, some enterprises, by aggregating industrial chain data, have shortened the R&D cycle for high-end products and the procurement and delivery cycle by more than 30%, and reduced the inventory cycle from 3 months to 1 month; in the agricultural field, some planting enterprises, through data empowerment in the fertilization process, comprehensively increased output by 5.5%, and some aquaculture enterprises increased the total amount of marine biological resources in marine ranches by 5.3 times. The development and utilization of public data resources has achieved remarkable results. The National Public Data Resource Registration Platform has registered more than 300,000 data resources, products, and services. Nationwide, 202 authorized operation implementing institutions and 224 operating institutions have been registered, and the number of authorized operation data products and services exceeds 10,200; the number of datasets applying for sharing increased by nearly 30% year on year, and the volume of open public data and the volume of authorized operation data increased by 31.71% and 53.96% respectively year on year. At the national level, five batches totaling 150 public data "running" demonstration scenarios have been released. Scenario construction has become an important engine for promoting the development and utilization of public data, effectively promoting the efficient circulation and integrated utilization of public data resources, and better empowering high-quality economic and social development.

The scale of the data industry has continued to grow. The "China Data Industry Development Report (2026)" shows that the scale of China's data industry has reached 6.78 trillion yuan, data products and services highly related to artificial intelligence account for more than 70% of the total output value of the data industry, and the number of data enterprises nationwide exceeds 480,000. Fourteen central state-owned enterprises opened more than 6 billion pieces of high-value data, promoting the value of data in application scenarios. Thirty-two cities launched a new batch of pilot data annotation initiatives, exploring token business models suited to actual industry conditions, and the data industry ecosystem is being continuously cultivated and strengthened. The scale of data circulation has continued to grow, with total enterprise data circulation reaching 1,935.36 exabytes (EB), a year-on-year increase of 25.17%. The cross-provincial data circulation volume of major economic provinces such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Henan ranked in the top five, and a market consensus of paying for high-quality data is taking shape. Data is becoming an important support for localities to optimize the business environment, attract innovation resources, and cultivate new growth points.

English text is being prepared.

The construction of data element disciplines and specialties and the development of the digital talent workforce are advancing rapidly. The first industry-education integration teaching steering committee—the National Digital Economy Teaching Steering Committee—was established, the formation of the National Data Vocational Education Teaching Steering Committee is being accelerated, and more and more universities across the country are offering specialties related to the digital economy and digital technology. Taking the reform of market-based allocation of data elements as the main line, further open up the channels for value release

Using reform as the driving force to promote economic development is a valuable experience our Party has formed in long-term practice. Only by paying more attention to combining an efficient market with a capable government and always taking the reform of market-based allocation of data elements as the main line can we push forward the marketization and valorization of data elements with greater force. There is no ready-made experience to draw on in the data field. Through exploration in recent years, the toolbox and methodology for the reform of market-based allocation of data elements have been continuously enriched.

Improve basic institutions and solidify institutional guarantees. We will continue to improve institutional rules such as data property rights, circulation and trading, income distribution, and security governance, improve and perfect the nationally unified data property rights registration system, accelerate research and formulation of policy documents for building a nationally integrated data market, and strengthen top-level design for the data market. We will build and form a "1+3" policy system for the development and utilization of public data, issue policy documents to promote the development and utilization of enterprise data resources, adopt categorized measures to promote the standardized and efficient use of public data and enterprise data, and steadily advance the institutionalization and rule-of-law process of data resource development and utilization. The National Data Standards Committee was established to improve the data standards system, closely link institutions with industry, and help accelerate the release of the value of data elements.

Coordinate infrastructure construction and solve circulation difficulties. We will coordinate the layout of infrastructure such as computing power, networks, storage, and circulation and utilization, accelerate the construction of a nationally integrated computing power network, and promote the coordinated layout of resources such as data, networks, computing power, and energy. We will strengthen research on key core technologies and the construction of a data standards system; the National Key R&D Program "High-Efficiency and High-Trustworthiness Big Data Technology" has been officially approved, continuously enhancing technical support capabilities such as trusted data circulation, security governance, and value assessment; we will coordinate the advancement of basic data institutions and data infrastructure construction, make every effort to solve the "impossible triangle" problem of secure, compliant, and efficient data circulation, and provide a solid foundation for the marketization and valorization of data elements.

Deepen resource development and utilization and remove bottlenecks and blockages. Give full play to the scale advantages of China's data resources, accelerate the implementation and effectiveness of the "1+3" policy system for public data development and utilization, and promote the transformation of public data supply from "sharing as the main approach" to "coordinated advancement of sharing, opening, and authorized operation." Deeply implement the action to improve the data efficiency of state-owned enterprises and guide enterprises to strengthen data resource governance and value mining. Deeply implement the action to tackle data resource development and utilization in key industries, further remove difficulties and blockages in data development and utilization in ten major industries such as industrial manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and transportation and logistics, create high-value application scenarios for industries, promote the integrated application of public data with enterprise data and social data, connect the entire chain of data circulation and utilization, and empower the integrated development of AI and industries. In response to the needs of AI development, accelerate the construction of high-quality industry datasets, form a "data flywheel" in which "scenarios pull data, data drives models, models empower applications, and applications create value," use tokens as a new path for releasing the value of data elements, expand token call scenarios, and accelerate the building of a symbiotic ecosystem in which data elements and AI evolve in coordination.

Optimize market mechanisms and stimulate the vitality of market entities. Issue policy documents for cultivating data circulation service institutions, clarify the current diverse forms of data circulation and trading, clarify the main forces in data circulation and trading services, and support various data circulation service institutions such as data exchanges (centers), data circulation service platform enterprises, and data merchants in leveraging their respective strengths and developing in coordination.

Coordinate development and security, and firmly hold the bottom line against risks. Adhere to placing equal emphasis on promoting utilization and ensuring security, improve the data security governance system, strengthen the classified and tiered protection of important data, and enhance the capacity for monitoring and early warning of data security risks and for emergency response. Promote the orderly flow and efficient utilization of data on the premise of ensuring security, and safeguard the high-quality development of data elements with high-level security. Further activate the role of data as a basic resource and as an engine of innovation, and continuously shape new advantages for Chinese-style modernization.

After more than three years of reform exploration, data, as a new type of production factor, is no longer confined to technical support and partial applications, but has increasingly become an important force running through all links of production, circulation, distribution, and consumption.

The "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a critical phase of leapfrog development in which data elements will be fully integrated into and better empower economic and social development. We must fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, serve and integrate into the new development pattern, adhere to coordinating development and security, and better leverage the important role of data elements in building a modern industrial system, smoothing the domestic circulation, and shaping new advantages in international competition.

Empower the modern industrial system and accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces. Promote the deep integration of data elements with traditional production factors such as land, labor, capital, and technology, facilitate the quality improvement and upgrading of traditional industries, and cultivate and strengthen emerging industries and future industries. Advance the deep integration of data technological innovation and industrial innovation, make the data industry bigger and stronger, cultivate a batch of competitive data enterprises, expand the breadth and depth of data applications, and explore diversified and sustainable paths for value release. Cultivate innovation-led, regionally pillar, and regionally distinctive digital industry clusters in light of local conditions, implement a cluster training program for highly skilled talent in the data field, deepen the opening up of data across industry, academia, and research, deepen integration around scenarios such as collaborative innovation, achievement transformation, and industrial coordination, accelerate the large-scale application and commercial deployment of new technologies, and build digital industry clusters with international competitiveness. Select and identify a batch of digitally innovative enterprises with strong innovation capabilities, build a professional selection and cultivation mechanism combining "government + enterprise + innovation + investment," accelerate the establishment of an inclusive and prudent innovation environment, and promote the emergence of more unicorns and gazelle enterprises in the digital economy, injecting lasting momentum into the high-quality development of the data industry.

Improve the allocation efficiency of data elements and serve the smooth operation of the domestic circulation. The value of data elements must ultimately be reflected in economic circulation and amplified in the industrial system. Further clarify the technical logic, value mechanism, and governance boundaries of token applications, guide localities to plan and build token factories in a scientific and reasonable manner, and pragmatically explore token applications. Use data flow to drive the efficient allocation of goods, services, capital, and talent, promote precise matching of supply and demand, reduce institutional transaction costs, and promote the formation of a higher-level dynamic balance in which demand drives supply and supply creates demand.

Expand the application space of data elements and promote coordinated regional development. The flow of data elements not only connects industries but also connects regions and urban and rural areas. Relying on the national integrated computing network, national data infrastructure, and digital public service system, promote the coordinated utilization of data resources in the eastern, central, and western regions, narrow the digital divide between regions, urban and rural areas, and groups, coordinate the advancement of citywide digital transformation and digital village construction, and ensure that the fruits of digital and intelligent development benefit all people more fully and fairly.

Enhance international competitiveness in the data field and expand high-level opening up. Coordinate the use of both domestic and international markets and resources, deepen international cooperation in the digital economy, actively participate in consultations on international rules and standard-setting in the data field, encourage qualified localities to explore the building of cross-border data flow service infrastructure and international data centers, build a batch of cross-border trusted data spaces, and share the opportunities of digital economy development.

When data thrives, industries thrive; when data is strong, the economy is strong. We must fully leverage advantages such as abundant data resources, leading infrastructure, a complete industrial system, and broad application scenarios, accelerate the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy, fully unleash the multiplier effect of data elements, and provide strong support for building a new development pattern, building a modern economic system, and forging new national competitive advantages, striving to write a new chapter in building a Digital China on the new journey of the "15th Five-Year Plan."

(Hu Jianbo, President of the National Data Development Research Institute) www.smartcity.team

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