How Can China Build a Secure, Free Data Sharing Ecosystem?

Since 2020, as pandemic prevention entered a normalized stage across the country, rapid and timely exchange of related data has become essential for improving prevention efficiency, maintaining normal social operations, and enhancing people's lives.

In this digital era, data has emerged as a crucial production factor driving the digital economy and social governance transformation.

Strengthen Top‑Level Design

National People's Congress deputy and Suning Group chairman Zhang Jindong urged the gradual promotion of free public data sharing, emphasizing the need for clear standards, a secure open‑sharing mechanism, and well‑defined permissions so that data can be efficiently utilized on a larger scale.

Recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council issued the "Action Plan for Building a High‑Standard Market System," which calls for accelerating the development of a data‑factor market, publishing new data‑sharing responsibility lists, and establishing foundational systems and standards for data ownership, transaction, cross‑border transmission, and security.

However, challenges such as fragmented data ownership, inconsistent standards, and the lack of a closed data loop persist across big‑data, cloud‑computing, internet, and AI domains, demanding higher efficiency, better organization, and safer governance for free data sharing.

Zhang proposes establishing a data governance committee as the leading body for data resource sharing management and creating a national‑level data sharing platform. This involves accelerating coordination at macro, meso, and micro levels, building unified data‑sharing solutions, and forming a comprehensive big‑data resource sharing system to break data silos and enable cross‑regional and cross‑industry integration.

Using retail as an example, he explains that data sharing can aggregate upstream and downstream industry resources, dynamically match supply and demand, optimize capacity allocation, empower suppliers and retailers, and accelerate the digital transformation of the retail ecosystem.

He also stresses that leading enterprises should uphold social responsibility, shift toward collaborative market development, and continuously increase data openness by providing specialized data‑sharing services that focus on industry resources and overall supply‑chain development.

Establish a Closed‑Loop Management System for Public Data Sharing

Clear definition of data‑sharing attributes (public, restricted, non‑sharing) and corresponding rights is essential. Regulatory bodies should grant appropriate access based on laws, regulations, and industry standards, ensuring data rights circulation.

Strengthening the security of free data sharing and circulation is also critical. Authorities must quickly define protection scopes, responsibilities, measures, and standards, while leading firms should promote the practical implementation of these norms, build robust data protection capabilities, and open them to the industry to avoid redundant development and resource waste.

Finally, Zhang advocates for societal participation by introducing public data sharing education from the campus level, fostering understanding of big‑data fundamentals, management, application, and protection, and cultivating advanced talent to realize the full value of data resources.