(Yicai) Oct. 21 -- China has established National Data Group, a central state-owned enterprise focused on advancing the development and utilization of data resources, in Xiong’an New Area in northern Hebei province.

National Data Group, set up yesterday, is owned by the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Zhang Xianghong, a member of the National Data Expert Advisory Committee, told Yicai. It aims to unlock the value of data as a production factor, support the growth of artificial intelligence, and foster a thriving data industrial ecosystem, Zhang added.

The National Data Expert Advisory Committee is a think tank under the National Data Administration to offer expert counsel on major data policies and development plans.

National Data Group will take a market-oriented and professional approach, Zhang said. It will undertake the key task of developing, integrating, and operating national-level data resources, facilitate cross-industry and cross-regional flow and sharing of data resources, and significantly boost the efficiency of data allocation to accelerate the building of a unified national data market.

The National Data Administration, established in 2023, is primarily responsible for setting basic data systems and policy design, Zhang noted, adding that the new central SOE will focus on market-based operations and on-the-ground implementation, including developing and utilizing data resources.

The data industry will likely undergo profound model transformations, meaning that data infrastructure will become interconnected, more market participants will gain access to high-value data resources at lower thresholds, and data innovation hubs that bring together technology, industry, and talent will keep emerging, Zhang pointed out.

At the end of 2022, a policy document jointly issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council first put forward a systematic framework for the data property rights system, featuring three rights: the right to hold data resources, to use processed data, and to trade data products. It also recognized data as the fifth factor of production, alongside land, labor, capital, and technology.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev