As part of the Chinese government’s efforts to accelerate the development of digital trade, To make Shanghai’s Pudong district a leading area in the global race for modernity and digitalization, She launched a data trading platform to facilitate the business of large companies and help small businesses grow.

After the digital revolution flooded the world with data, Every year, the world produces more than 100 trillion gigabytes of new data that countries seek to use to achieve their respective national digitization strategies.

Companies always need data, But they lack sufficient knowledge of the types of data that are useful to them, or where to find them, or methods of their analysis and management, Sometimes they are inaccessible due to data security policies. In major economies, as in the case of China, The gap between available resources and data demand deepens and calls for government efforts to help the private sector and businesses of all sizes.

So, The authorities of the Chinese capital began an experiment that is the first of its kind, Through the establishment of the Shanghai Exchange for data exchange in the Pudong New Area. This step comes within the framework of the fourteenth five-year plan of the Ministry of Commerce, The latter pledged to support the trade and exploration of digital products and to promote an enabling environment for their prosperity, Including support for professional services, social media platforms, and search engines.

The platform, which started operating on the day of its launch, included 20 types of data products covering 8 sectors including finance, transport and communications, With the contribution of many leading companies such as “China Airlines” and major telecom network operators.

To make the operations run in the best possible way, The authorities have established a panel of 31 experts in the areas of legal compliance, data security and collection, It signed agreements with 100 companies specialized in these sectors, It has also cooperated with companies active in the fields of technology, law and accounting to ensure the safety and smoothness of transactions, For example, Vodata Technology has provided data administrators, users, suppliers and managers with technology services and secure and controllable management systems.

As an example of the practical uses of a data exchange, Banks can view energy consumption data to assess the credibility of companies before approving loans. Energy consumption is an important indicator of business, Having a direct relationship, Constant or increasing rates mean stable or ever-evolving businesses, And vice versa. Telecom service providers can also contribute traffic data to guide startup business owners or store chains to choose the optimal locations to open stores.

The first exchanges took place between the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Shanghai Municipal Electricity Corporation. Its data covers a variety of industries, Commercial banks can refer to this data to create innovative financial products and services for businesses.

The platform currently provides a booklet that includes the types of data available, Data consumers can view it to choose what meets their needs. In the long run, The executive team looks forward to providing tailor-made assistance to businesses, Appoint intermediaries who will deliver the most useful data according to the needs of each buyer. For now, Stock exchange operations are still confined between the seller and the buyer, As developers work to create a new process, The product is available to multiple buyers once listed on the exchange.

Because the Chinese government sees data as a gateway to improving the efficiency of other resources and promoting economic growth, It will not keep it confined to the stock exchange, Rather, it will be treated as one of the assets owned by companies and those documented in their financial documents.

Of course, it makes no sense to make the data available to any buyer, Because this poses endless challenges related to the buyer’s goals, use of data and concern for its privacy. So, A set of regulations governing the work of the stock exchange has been established, which prevents any exchange from taking place before the buyer has explained the processes in which the data will be used accurately and transparently, There are also a variety of ways to share data. They vary based on how sensitive they are, It takes place only between parties verified through the Statute. Moreover, The data itself is not available on the platform, It cannot be obtained before passing all the stages that guarantee its presentation as a product that meets security requirements and customer needs.

These processes have revealed the challenge of standardizing data formatting, The exchange found a solution by imposing a common process that obliges suppliers to follow a series of steps to ensure that they provide high-quality data that complies with regulations.

Despite the challenges that the ASE was able to solve, It inherited other challenges that often accompany data circulation, Whereas, China has already established a mechanism for the exchange of data at the provincial level, But it did not achieve the hoped-for goals, This is due to poor oversight, mistrust between sellers and buyers, and the absence of standards that determine data ownership rights or prices. To address these challenges, The team is counting on government support and oversight that will ensure transparent operations and answer growing questions about the restrictions imposed by Chinese authorities on cross-border data sharing.

The data exchange will bring many benefits, It will help the government to have an accurate understanding of China’s existing data resources. Data exchange will also drive digital transformation forward and boost the opening up of the Chinese economy. When the platform’s developers can embed legacy data resources from China, Even from the world, This will make it easier to introduce them to visitors to maintain their competitive advantage.

If the data exchange experience is successful, It will pave the way towards a new era in which data drives economic growth.

References:

• http://english.www.gov.cn/news/topnews/202111/26/content_WS61a04d80c6d0df57f98e5977.html
• https://govinsider.asia/digital-gov/yong-lu-exclusive-how-chinas-open-data-trading-could-power-growth/