Beijing wants a market for data trading: the question is how?

  • The plan does not provide details on the ownership of data or what kind of data can be traded
  • Draft data regulations unveiled by Shenzhen authorities last year sparked controversy

Iris Dengin Hong KongandChe Panin Beijing
Beijing’s exploration in making data a new tradeable asset can have far-reaching implications for China’s technology companies. Photo: EPA-EFE

China will speed up the building of a market for data, dubbed the new oil of the digital economy, so that it can be priced and traded like regular commodities, according to a detailed plan that lays out how the country wants to build a modern market system of “high standards”, released by Beijing on Sunday evening.

While the plan does not specify who owns the data, what kind of data can be traded or what the trading mechanism will be like, last year Beijing listed data as a new production factor, along with land, labour, capital and technology.

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