China willing to deepen intl data cooperation

This photo taken on April 24, 2023 shows a view of the 4th United Nations World Data Forum in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province. The forum is scheduled from April 24 to 27. [Photo/Xinhua]

Data: Traditional factors of production to be upgraded

China is willing to deepen international data cooperation with other countries within the framework of the Global Development Initiative, President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

Xi said that China supports and implements the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and adheres to a new philosophy of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development.

In a congratulatory letter to the UN World Data Forum 2023, Xi said China constantly improves digital infrastructure, strengthens data and statistical capacity building, and actively shares its practices and experience in monitoring the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The forum, organized by the UN and co-hosted by China's National Bureau of Statistics and the government of Zhejiang province, is being held from Monday to Thursday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

China will work with other countries to help implement the 2030 Agenda through "data governance", and will support open, win-win international cooperation in the data field and promote the common development and progress of all countries, Xi said.

Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attended the forum's opening ceremony and read out the congratulatory letter.

Ding said the country will accelerate the promotion of innovative applications of digital technology, fully leverage the advantages of massive data scale and rich application scenarios, and improve the efficient circulation and proper use of data, to provide strong support for promoting high-quality development.

The scale of China's digital economy reached 45.5 trillion yuan ($6.6 trillion) in 2021, ranking second in the world and accounting for 39.8 percent of the country's GDP, according to a white paper released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Mao Shengyong, deputy head of the National Bureau of Statistics, told a news conference on Monday morning that the development of the digital economy is becoming a new driving force to boost high-quality development.

"Once put into economic activities, data, as a very innovative and new factor of production, will integrate itself with traditional ones. And that will bring added value, promote economic and social development and improve economic efficiency," Mao said.

Mao added that data will help promote the upgrading and transformation of traditional factors of production.

According to a recently released guideline by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, China's Cabinet, important progress will be made in the construction of a digital China by 2025. By 2035, China will be at the global forefront of digital development, according to the plan.

Siddharth Chatterjee, the UN resident coordinator in China, said, "We see this as an incredible opportunity to partner with China … to bring forth real capacities into the developing world so that they can best utilize data."