China's newly inaugurated National Data Bureau will collaborate with relevant departments to explore the implementation of a "Data Element X" initiative, to unleash the multiplier effects of data across a range of scenarios and facilitate the transformation of China's advantageous data infrastructure into new economic strengths, an official said on Saturday.

    Liu Liehong, chief of the bureau, introduced the plan at the Global Data Ecosystem Conference 2023 in Shanghai. He explained that data possesses characteristics of increasing returns at scale, noncompetitive and low-cost replication. When applied to different entities and combined with various elements, it can generate multiplier effects of varying degrees.

    From both ends of the supply and demand, efforts will be made in a number of key areas such as intelligent manufacturing, commercial circulation, transportation and logistics, financial services and medical health, to strengthen the traction of demand, break through circulation barriers and improve the quality of supply, he said.

    By accelerating the development and utilization of data across industries, it becomes possible to enhance the collaborative efficiency of various elements, identify the "optimal solution" for resource allocation, break through output boundaries, create new industries and business models, and achieve a multiplier effect driving economic development, according to Liu.

    Data exhibits synergistic effects, and through the integration of different data, greater value can be realized, even addressing issues that may be beyond the capability of a single dataset, Wang Peng, an associate researcher from the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Saturday.

    It also possesses reusability. "The more it is used, the better, and its value increases with increased usage, continually generating added value," Wang said, citing example of large language models.

    In the future, data elements will undergo deep integration with the real economy, people's daily life, the transformation and upgrading of the economy, as well as the construction of a digital China. They will generate dynamic effects in various scenarios, such as finance, transportation and logistics, Wang said.

    By the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China's data circulation market is expected to reach 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion), offering vast and valuable opportunities, according to media reports.

    The nation's data industry has been developing rapidly over recent years. From 2013 to 2023, the number of data-driven businesses in China has surged from approximately 110,000 to over 1 million, Liu mentioned at the forum. Data-driven businesses refer to economic entities where data serves as the primary object or main raw material for business activities.

    Since the establishment of the Shanghai Data Exchange two years ago, more than 1,700 data products have been listed, with a total transaction volume of approximately 1 billion yuan.

    At the forum, a data trading chain was officially launched to serve the entire industry and process of the data element circulation market. It provides fundamental and value-added data trading services, data trading assurance services, and data asset financial services.

    Administered by the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, the National Data Bureau was inaugurated on October 25. It is responsible for advancing the development of data-related fundamental institutions, coordinating the integration, sharing, development and application of data resources, and pushing forward the planning and building of a digital China, the digital economy and a digital society, among other measures.