China's newly appointed head of the National Bureau of Data, LIU Liehong, gave his first public speech on China's "data element system.
China's newly appointed head of the National Bureau of Data, LIU Liehong, gave his first public speech on China's "data element system.
In March this year, China’s central government decided to establish the National Bureau of Data as part of a sweeping government reshuffle. The new bureau is entrusted with the responsibility of planning China's digital economy, as well as the sharing and development of the country's data resources, promoting smart cities and the exchange of information resources across industries.
Electronics and information technology veteran Liu Liehong was appointed as the head of the bureau. Liu, 54, was appointed CEO and chairman of State-owned telecoms company China Unicom in August 2021. Before that, he served as the vice-minister of industry and information technology, the country's top industry regulator, from June 2020.
Absorbed officials and experts from the National Development and Reform Commission (发展和改革委员会), the Cyberspace Administration of China (国家互联网信息办公室) and other relevant departments, the National Bureau of Data has started to operate from October. As a Chinese proverb says, a new broom sweeps clean（新官上任三把火）. Now, analysts in China and abroad closely watch the policy measures Liu will propose after taking office.
On November 10th, Liu Liehong attended the Beijing Data Infrastructure Pilot Zone launch meeting and delivered the first public speech as the head of the National Bureau of Data.
Liu Liehong stated that one of the key tasks being promoted by the National Bureau of Data is to improve the data infrastructure system continuously, fully leverage the role of data as a foundational resource and innovation engine, continuously strengthen and optimize China's digital economy, and provide strong support for the establishment of a new development pattern, the construction of a modern economic system, and the building of new national competitive advantages.
Speech at the launch meeting of the Beijing Data Element Basic System Pilot Zone
Liu Liehong
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council attach great importance to the value of data elements. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to harness the fundamental resource and innovation engine roles of data, and to accelerate the formation of a digital economy primarily led and supported by innovation. Currently, data elements have become one of the production factors alongside land, labour, capital, and technology, gradually integrating into various aspects of production and life, profoundly influencing and restructuring the economic and social structure, and becoming a key strategic resource influencing global competition in the digital era. Earlier this year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to establish the National Bureau of Data and entrusted it with the responsibility of coordinating the advancement of basic data system construction, integrating and sharing data resources, and developing their utilization. One of our key ongoing tasks is to improve the basic data system continuously, fully harness the fundamental resource and innovation engine roles of data, and continuously strengthen and optimize China's digital economy, providing strong support for building a new development pattern, constructing a modern economic system, and establishing new national competitive advantages.
As a gathering place for various central enterprises, state-owned enterprises, and private enterprises, Beijing has gathered the most abundant and high-quality talents, technologies, and other resources in terms of data resource types, levels, and scales. Beijing has always attached great importance to the development of the digital economy and is accelerating the construction of a global benchmark city for the digital economy. The launch of the pilot zone for the construction of the basic data system further demonstrates the high regard of the Beijing Municipal Committee and the municipal government for releasing the value of data elements and nurturing the digital economy. It is hoped that Beijing will further leverage its existing advantages to continue exploring and taking the lead in the "three rights" separation system, data circulation and transactions, and the construction of data infrastructure.
The first is to explore the implementation of the "three rights" separation of data, allowing data to be "supplied" with confidence. The separation mechanism of data resource ownership, data processing and use rights, data product operating rights, etc., is an important institutional basis for accelerating the circulation of data elements and releasing their value, and needs to be further improved through practical exploration. It is hoped that Beijing will fully leverage the advantages of the data element basic system pilot zone, explore and define the legitimate rights enjoyed by all parties in the process of data sources, ownership, processing, etc., promote the establishment of a sound protection system for the legitimate rights and interests of all parties involved in data elements, and help the practical implementation of China's characteristic data property rights system.
Secondly, we must cultivate a multi-level data circulation and transaction system, allowing more data to "get moving". The data circulation and transaction system is a continuous source of power for releasing the value of data elements, and only by continuously enhancing the value creation capability of data can more entities' enthusiasm be stimulated. We are currently studying and drafting relevant guidance documents to promote the construction of the data transaction circulation system from a top-level design. It is hoped that Beijing will build on the existing foundation of big data exchanges, explore and improve services such as the valuation, registration and settlement, and compliance consultation of public data, industry data, etc., cultivate and develop enterprises involved in data production, circulation, and application, and construct a data transaction circulation ecosystem.
Thirdly, we need to promote the construction of data infrastructure, enabling data security to "come alive". Data infrastructure is the key carrier for making data "available, flowable, and usable", and only by enabling secure and trustworthy data circulation can efficient data utilisation be achieved. We are actively paying attention to the evolution of data circulation-related technologies, and hope that Beijing will fully leverage its advantages in talent, technology, and other areas, actively promote the research and development and integrated application of data circulation technologies such as privacy computing, data space, and blockchain, and layout and construct data infrastructure, providing strong foundational support for trustworthy and efficient data circulation.
Currently, the construction of basic data systems is gradually being improved, and the development of data element industries is accelerating. The National Bureau of Data will continue to pay attention to the development of data element industries in Beijing, support pilot zones in exploring data element-related fields, and also look forward to Beijing achieving new achievements in the field of data elements.