China to integrate its data resources

Move expected to boost efficiency, expand market opportunities

The central government will promote the sharing of data to build an integrated, connected and secure system for the nation, a move that experts believe will boost efficiency and expand market opportunities.

The initiative was included in the Guideline on State Informatization for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), which was approved at a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Dec 7.

According to a statement released after the meeting, barriers to sharing information will be overcome to establish an integrated, connected and secure system for the nation's data resources by interconnecting information systems between different government departments and accelerating the process of providing public access to data.

Under the four major targets set in the guideline, China will expand its broadband reach in rural areas, while further reducing costs; build a system to monitor information security; and promote 12 priority projects, including 5th-generation telecommunication technologies.

Meanwhile, online scammers will be the focus of a severe crackdown and sterner punishment, as the guideline also aims at containing such frauds.

Informatization and digitalization have great significance in innovation and to the national Made in China 2025 strategy, and can improve people's livelihoods, the statement said.

The guideline showed the country's determination to overcome the barriers and closely connect core data, says Ning Jiajun, a consultant for the Advisory Committee for State Informatization. He adds that this will probably speed up the informatization process.

At present, most of the core data is being controlled by key government departments, which has created "artificial walls and isolated islands" to obstruct distribution and sharing of data, says Ning.

Zhang Lin is a 22-year-old senior student majoring in public management in Beijing. He complained of the difficulty of finding government records to complete his graduation thesis on urban affordable housing.

"In my first proposal, I wanted to write on the costs and benefits of providing low-income people with affordable apartments. However, I couldn't find any public information on the costs. Then I had to adjust to the status quo of urban affordable housing, which my instructor thought was too general," Zhang says.

"But that's the only part of my specialized area could find specific information and data to support my thesis. My friend found all the records needed for his thesis for his master's degree in New York, 90 percent of which was available online or at the library."

As a country undergoing rapid development in internet technology, China is encouraging the integration of the internet with other industries, such as traditional manufacturing and agriculture. But huge amounts of data, which are being generated to help sellers find market opportunities, are still hidden from most people.

Data sharing has also been a major concern for Li Keqiang. At the opening ceremony of the Big Data Summit in May in Guiyang, Guizhou province, Li said the government holds 80 percent of the data and information generated in the nation and will publicize more, except that which is related to national security, commercial secrets and privacy. By doing this, the government can create a market of fair competition while integrating with the internet and big data to boost public services, he said.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has held several executive meetings since November 2015 on integrating the internet with government services, aiming to simplify the process of approving applications by relocating the provision of services away from physical government buildings to online channels.

Electronic data and broadband service can be thought of as the infrastructure for online business and services, says Zhou Hanhua, a researcher on governmental information at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Some of us have entered the age of information but some have not, due to lack of a sharing mechanism between different departments," Zhou says. "That should be altered to boost efficiency and make it simple for the public to get their applications done."

huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/16/2016 page14)