New group will help boost unified data market

Editor's note: China National Data Group Co Ltd, a State-owned enterprise administered by the central government, was established recently. Shanghai Securities News spoke to Chen Jidong, an associate professor of the Law School at Tongji University, and Lu Yong, secretary-general of the ‌Shanghai association of digital commerce, on the development and utilization of data resources. Below are excerpts of the interviews. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

Establishing a data group at the national level is a groundbreaking move. The new enterprise has been established for the development and utilization of data resources. Positioned as a national leader in data services, it aims to spearhead connectivity in data infrastructure and drive national data sci-tech innovation.

As a market participant, the enterprise will be instrumental in developing, integrating and operating national-level data resources. This will facilitate the implementation of fundamental data systems, promote the market-driven use of data, break down data silos and accelerate the development of a unified national data market. This development marks a new phase in the systematic development of China's data factor market, accelerating the transition of data from a resource into an asset. The scale of China's data industry reached 6.78 trillion yuan ($1.02 trillion) in 2025, up 15.7 percent from the previous year.

The enterprise is also expected to enhance connectivity among data infrastructure systems and play a crucial role in advancing innovation in data technologies. By adopting market-oriented and specialized approaches, it can make high-value data resources more accessible to a wider range of market participants, lowering entry barriers and building a data innovation hub that combines technology, industry and talent.

With this new national-level player entering the data factor market, China's big data industry is expected to shift its focus from expanding in scale to unlocking greater value during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–30) period. Opportunities are likely to be concentrated in five areas: high-quality datasets, trusted data spaces, integrated computing power, industry-specific artificial intelligence agents and a more specialized division of labor in data services.

This round of industrial upgrading is creating new opportunities. Compliance and the secure circulation of data are becoming essential requirements. To be made available, flow freely and be effectively utilized, data must be compliant, traceable and trustworthy. Meanwhile, the deeper integration of AI with data-driven applications is continuously expanding the scope for data services.

Against the backdrop of AI breakthroughs, the data industry will play an increasingly important role during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Large AI models and physical AI systems increasingly require greater amounts of data.

Data elements represented by tokens can help accelerate the development and application of large language models and physical world models. The value of data will increasingly be realized through its application in AI-driven scenarios, pointing to significant growth potential.

Tokens have also emerged as a new way to unlock the value of data as a factor of production. Evolving beyond their initial role as technical units, tokens have become standardized units for measuring value and allocating resources.

This shift has opened up four new areas of opportunity: a pricing revolution that measures data according to its value, a restructuring of infrastructure through coordination between intelligent computing and electricity supply, closed-loop businesses enabled by precise cost accounting, and data-driven flywheel ecosystems.