China puts focus on improving digital economy

China’s focus on improving national data management systems will boost the high-quality development of the country’s digital economy.

That’s the view of Shen Zhulin, deputy head of the National Data Administration, who said China “has made great strides in developing the digital economy and promoting the construction of digital infrastructure like computing power networks”. He added that the country’s digital economy has become “an important engine” for the developing economy.

He said the importance of core digital economy industries in boosting the country’s GDP has been increasing, while innovative achievements in cutting-edge digital technologies like integrated circuits, artificial intelligence and quantum information are emerging at a faster pace.

Shen added that the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2024, which will be held in Guiyang, Guizhou province, from 28-30 August, will showcase the latest trends and achievements of the big data industry both at home and abroad. The expo focuses on six main topics covering the industrialization of digital technologies, the digital transformation of industries; the value of data; digital governance; digital infrastructure; and data security.

During the three-day event, experts and academics will be invited to deliver keynote speeches, while the latest policies, applications and research results in the big data industry are scheduled to be released by government departments, research institutes and participating enterprises, he said.

The expo has been held in Guiyang since 2015 and is the first of its kind in China, forming a communication platform for pivotal achievements in the big data industry.

Dubbed China’s ‘big data hub’, the province of Guizhou has been designated China’s first national big data comprehensive pilot zone. It has been promoting the big data industry as the backbone of its high-quality social and economic development.

Jing Yaping, director of the Big Data Development Administration of Guizhou, said the province will take further steps to speed up the construction of computing infrastructure and intelligent computing centres, and bolster the application of industry-specific large language models (LLMs).

Jing said the province has made great efforts to improve the basic systems for data by introducing a series of policy measures, promote the circulation and trading of data and build up data centre clusters to increase the potential of the digital economy.

To seize the opportunities from the fast-developing artificial intelligence or AI technology, Ma Ningyu, mayor of Guiyang, stressed the need to bolster industrial application of AI-powered LLMs by providing high-performance computing power and high-quality data and accelerating the construction of LLM training platforms, as well as expand the application scenarios of data elements in more fields.

 

Beijing speeds up company registrations

Foreign investors wishing to incorporate a company in Beijing can now complete the entire registration process online utilising facial recognition technology, making it the first Chinese city to offer this service.

Officials said the registration process has been shortened to just one day from the two to three months it took previously said Yang Xiuling, director of the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission.

He said: “In recent years, Beijing has carried out a series of measures to make it simpler and easier for foreigners to settle down in the capital or for multinational corporations to set up research centers. The service has been continuously improved and completed.”

By the end of 2023, Beijing was home to 245 regional headquarters of multi-national corporations and 149 foreign research and development centres, according to the commission.

Before the implementation of the facial recognition system, foreign nationals applying for the registration of foreign-funded enterprises in Beijing were required to provide additional proof of identity issued by their home country or region. Alternatively, they could undergo real-name verification by acquiring a bank card in China, and the applicant had to be physically present for identity authentication.

Beijing has also recognized 122 overseas professional qualifications and has fully implemented a one-stop application process for both work permits and work-type residence permits in order to provide convenience to foreign professionals.

The processing time for these permits has been reduced from 17 working days to five working days.