Xinhua Outlook Weekly Carries A Report of Exclusive Interview with Academician Chen Xiaohong
2021-05-11
On May 10, Xinhua Outlook Weeklypublished a report of exclusive interview with Professor Chen Xiaohong, CAE Academician and HUTB Party Secretary, during the two sessions, and promoted it as a key contribution on the cover. The report invites Academician Chen Xiaohong to analyze and interpret the issue of competition for global discourse in digital economy, which stimulated extensive attention and hot discussion. The report was viewed more than 1.5 million times in a single day. In recent years, Academician Chen Xiaohong’s team focused on scientific research in the field of digital economy, achieved a series of breakthrough results, and has been on the forefront of digital economy research inside and outside China. During the two sessions in 2021, Academician Chen Xiaohong, as a delegate to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, submitted policy recommendations in the field of digital economy, such as Promote the Construction of Data factor Market with High Standard to Enhance Global Discourse in Digital Economy, Accelerate the Construction of Digital Currency Risk Supervision System to Ensure Safe Operation of Digital Currency, and Accelerate Enabling of of Digital Transformation to Promote Smart Integrated Urban-rural Development. These policy recommendations were covered by such mainstream media as Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, people.cn and rmzxb.com.cn, and received extensive attention, which demonstrates Chen Xiaohong’s responsibility as a delegate to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and CAE Academician.
The full text of the report of the exclusive interview is as follows:
◇China has advantages in the formulation of rules related to data factor market, and is in a position to engage in a competition with no generation difference with international counterparties
◇In the future, China may focus on forming a discourse power in legal supervision system to counter the limits of Western rules
Data factor is one of the core factors of modern industrial system. It is not only a driving force behind new engines of digital economy, but also the forefront of global digital competition,” said Chen Xiaohong, CAE Academician and HUTB Party Secretary.
The Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Improving the Systems and Mechanisms for Market-based Allocation of Factors of Productionclearly called for accelerating the cultivation of data factor market. The Action Plan for Building of High-standard Market Systemprinted and issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council in January 2021 again proposed a guiding outline for accelerating the cultivation of data factor market.
Chen Xiaohong, a long-time expert in digital economy, said that promoting the market-based allocation of data factors with high standard, a tractional important reform has a profound influence, as it bears on not only the vigorous development of China’s digital economy and in-depth implementation of digital reform, but also China’s global discourse power in digital economy and digital governance.
A journalist of Outlook Weekly conducted an exclusive interview with Chen Xiaohong, which covers following questions: Which critical bottlenecks does China face in cultivating data factor market? What are the features of building a digital standardization system? What are the urgent matters facing China in building digital standardization system?
Five bottlenecks in the building of data factor market
Outlook Weekly: What is the definition of high-standard data factor market?
Chen Xiaohong: To build a high-standard data factor market, China needs to propose its own solution for the building of data factor market in line with global standard. The Action Plan for Building of High-standard Market System requires that a high-standard market system featuring unity and openness, orderly competition, mature system and perfect governance should be established. To deepen the reform of systems and mechanism for market-based allocation of factors is one of the difficulties China faces in the building of high-standard market system. In building high-standard data factor market, China should creatively comply with the requirements of this high standard, highlight its open attitude toward accommodating global flow of data, reaffirm its commitment to demonstrating and guiding the formulation of rules governing orderly competition in global digital economy, optimize regulatory protection and legal safeguard for data factor transactions, and improve the market system for data factor transactions and the intermediary service industry.
Outlook Weekly: Which critical bottlenecks does China face in the building of data factor market?
Chen Xiaohong: At present, the outstanding problems that China face in the cultivation of data factor market include a lack of domestic legal supervision rules, a lack of open sharing of public data, lag in the construction of digital standard system, gaps between new infrastructure and new scenario, and lag in the cultivation of multilevel market system and intermediary service industry.
First, the lag in the construction of legal supervision rules might weaken China’s legislative discourse power. To legitimate the transactions on data factor market is a prerequisite for allocating data factors as basic strategic resources. At present, there is no domestic legal guarantee for data acquisition, confirmation of access to data, shared development, circulation and transaction, and application scenarios. Nor is there regulatory rules concerning the practice of factor circulation. There is no regulatory rules with respect to the life cycle and transaction chain of data factors. There is no supervision system and technology that is appropriate to the circulation and transaction of high-frequency and massive data factors. The national security interest in data resources is under constant threat. China faces a huge challenge in influencing international legislative rules while engaging in global digital economy competition.
Second, China faces two critical bottlenecks in the opening and sharing of public data, which restricts the market discourse power. Market size determines market position, and data flow determines discourse power. Massive public data resources are still retained in the information islands of various departments and localities. Two critical bottlenecks are worth noting: first, the desensitization and declassification standards for public data are ambiguous, incoherent and difficult to coordinate, which prevents public data from being fully opened and shared; second, there is no specialized institution or market in charge of the cleaning, classification and categorization, desensitization and declassification, and sharing and exchange of public data.
Third, the lag in the construction of digital standard system affects China’s discourse power in the formulation of rules. This is manifested in the following aspects: first, there is no standard for key generic technologies such as data acquisition, opening, classification, quality and security, which subjects data factor transactions to extensive management, affecting the release of data values, especially in such key areas related to traditional industries such as industrial big data and industrial internet; second, there is no application standard for data factor transactions and intermediary service, which inhibits the transformation of corporate data factor resources to values, making it more difficult for SMEs to participate in the data factor market.
Fourth, the unbalanced development of digital infrastructure and its industrial application inhibits China’s discourse power in development. There is a gap in data transaction infrastructure development between coastal areas in Eastern China and hinterland areas in Central and Western China, between digital industry and traditional industry, and between smart city and digital village, which inhibits the high-standard cultivation of a unified data factor market. On the one hand, the number of application scenarios in the fields of government affairs, finance, commerce and trade continues to increase; on the other hand, China faces a bottleneck in such application scenarios as the integration of informatization and industrialization, transformation of real economy, public security, life and health, and city administration. This can be summed up as the following two points: first, with respect to the issue of structural integration, China is on the forefront in terms of the integration of consumption and circulation data factors and industry, but lags behind in the integration of industrial data factors and real economy industries; second, with respect to the issue of standard integration, without the support of generic technical solution, traditional industries where SMEs make up for the largest share suffer low access to industrial data, low numerical control rate of key process, low standardization rate of operation, and difficulties in data acquisition and big data gathering.
Fifth, the lag in the cultivation of multilevel transaction market and intermediary service restricts China’s discourse power in transaction. This is manifested in the following aspects: first, there is a lack of safe, efficient and convenient system and management mode for big data transactions; second, there is no national infrastructure network of network, edge, cloud, terminal and centre to support the acquisition, transaction and use of data factors, which calls for strengthening top-level design, and accelerating the deployment and construction of industrial internet, edge computing, cloud platform, storage service transaction terminal, and supercomputing center; third, China lags behind in the cultivation of data intermediary service industry. There is a gap between the size and capacity of the existing data development service industry and the large demand for digital factor transaction service.
Six recommendations to improve data factor market
Outlook Weekly: Do you have any recommendations to accelerate the construction of data factor market?
Chen Xiaohong: First, we should build a high-standard legal safeguard system for the life cycle of data factors. The following points are worth noting: first, we should accelerate the formulation and improve the market-based legal system for the production, transaction, application, standard and security of data factors, and solve the legal difficulties in the confirmation of right, circulation and use of data factors; second, we should build an integrated supervision system for data market. The central government should establish a national department in charge of data market supervision; local governments should establish big data bureaus and big data exchanges (centers) at various levels to clarify the competent authority of market supervision.
Second, we should establish a high-standard frontier technology ecosystem for data factor transactions. This includes giving full play to the strength of rich application scenarios of digital technology, solving the difficulty in the application of such frontier technologies as block chain, 5G, big data and cloud computing in data factor transactions, and establishing a self-reliant and controllable core patent ecosystem. We should channel PE/PV and other industrial capital into major new infrastructure projects in the field of data factor, bring together global top-level professionals in data factor transaction, and promote the development of data factor transaction market and peripheral industries.
Third, we should promote high-standard reform of market-based allocation of data factors. It is recommended that a pilot cross-border free trade zone for digital factors be established. By taking the advantage of the massive size of the domestic data factor market and the strength of digital economy and digital technology, the FTZ, once completed, can vigorously develop such emerging business forms as cross-border data transaction, processing and circulation, which will not only provide safe, unobstructed and efficient globalized data service for global digital economy, but also provide safeguard for the safe and controllable entry of domestic digital enterprises into global market. The FTZ can provide data hosting service for international digital enterprises operating in China, and vigorously develop data outsourcing industry. In the meantime, it can assure that domestic sensitive data is safe and controllable, and that foreign sensitive data can be safely circulated in China.
Fourth, we should establish a high-standard sharing system for public data, and move fast to expand data market base and lock the scale anchoring effect of global flow of data factors. The scale of market flow is of equal importance as core technology in establishing global discourse power. At present, the way to quickly expand the flow scale of China’s data factor market is through the market-based circulation and use of massive public data. The recommendation can be summed up as the following points: first, local governments and department should formulate a catalogue of data resources, a negative list for launch of data factors, and a standard for pre-launch processing of public data, and accelerate the utilization and development of government-related public data following the principle of “Any data other than restricted data should be shared, and any data other than exceptional data should be shared”; second, a bidding system for public data development should be established to guide conforming enterprises to participate in the digging of public data and the innovation of market-based data product. We should continue to expand the application scenario of public data, with a view to using market demand to promote the production and launch of corporate data factors.
Fifth, we should develop a high-standard technical standard system for data factors. On the basis of legalization, we should formulate standards for confirmation of right, classification, transformation and launch, draft operating standards for various links of circulation such as data acquisition, storage, transmission, processing, use and distribution, and establish a three-level standard system at the state, local and industry levels. At the same time, we should actively participate in the formulation of international rules and the promotion of Chinese standards abroad, and take the advantage of large domestic market to seize the discourse power in the formulation of international standard.
Sixth, we should develop high-standard infrastructure for data factor transactions. We should implement a batch of major infrastructure projects in the field of data factor transaction, so as to promote the connectivity of data factor transaction infrastructure. We should strengthen the top-level design of multilevel and diversified data factor market, and accelerate the cultivation of distributed factor exchange (center). We should bring together the technological strengths of leading data resource enterprises, active innovators and research institutes to promote the building of data transaction platform.
China has the ability to engage in the comprehensive competition without generation gap
Outlook Weekly: Which unique difficulties does China face in data standardization compared to other factors? What are the requirements concerning its construction route and system design?
Chen Xiaohong: Irrespective of geography, the new development of digital economy poses a new challenge to the traditional supervision and standard systems. As a new type of production factor, the production, transaction, circulation and use of data factors is prominently marked by contextualization. The demand for data use, supervision and protection varies from one scenario to another, which will relate to the appeals of different stakeholders. When formulating standard, one should consider whether it is applicable to different scenarios. In establishing standard systems for data classification and categorization, we should consider whether these standards can be merged under different scenarios. This proposes high expectations for the rationality of construction route and system design of digital standardization system. The standard system also needs to be further refined. In addition to establishing a general standard, we should formulate standards corresponding to various classes of data. We should consider the issue of synthesizing standards under different scenarios. By doing so, we can ensure that the standard might be technically advanced, more resilient, and applicable to a variety of scenarios.
Outlook Weekly: You observed that the principle of “any standard that warrants urgent use should first be developed, and any standard that is mature should first go into effect”. When it comes to the building of digital standardization system, which links and areas are categorized as urgently needed? Would you like to talk about the progress?
Chen Xiaohong: The rapid development of digital economy requires accelerating the construction of data factor market. There are many links that are urgently needed. In my opinion, we need to give priority to developing standards in several areas, such as the confirmation of access to data, data classification, and public data desensitization and opening.
At present, there is a gap between the progress in the development of these standards and China’s actual demand for digital economy development. We should strengthen scientific research efforts, and bring together leading enterprises, government departments, research institutes and colleges to conduct joint and collaborative research, with a view to laying a foundation for the development of standards applicable to domestic data factor market.
Outlook Weekly: China is the middle of advancing the construction of digital standardization system. But there is a lack of progress in the formulation of some important standards. Is there any other barriers that block the progress?
Chen Xiaohong: This is a multifaceted problem. With respect to the issue of management system, to establish a data standard system involves various aspects, and poses a new problem that cannot be solved by just one or two departments through coordination. Insisting on the traditional standard development system might prevent us from catching up with the rapid progress in the practice of digital industry. We should practice institutional novelty, pragmatism and flexibility. Another problem is technological collaboration. There is variety of application scenarios for digital technologies. The appeal for standard various from one application scenario to another. It is challenging to integrate different appeals under different scenarios.
There is another problem that is worth noting: a standard should be formulated within the scope of an overall legal framework system, which requires well-defined supervision. At present, however, there is a lack of well-developed legal system for data factor market. There is no guiding principle for relevant operations and practices, which makes it more difficult to formulate relevant standards.
Outlook Weekly: In which areas and links do you think we are in a good position to seize the discourse power in international standard? What should be done to first make a breakthrough?
Chen Xiaohong: Compared with the standard system for traditional industry and international rules, China enjoys a competitive edge in formulating rules related to data factor market. China is now in a position to engage in a competition without generation gap with international counterparties, so to speak. This is a big blue ocean in the formulation of international standards and rules.
We should focus on developing a legal supervision system, seize discourse power, and counter the limits of Western rules, which is essential to the globalization of domestic digital economy and digital enterprises. We should also make efforts to achieve a great breakthrough in transaction market and technology, seize the first-mover advantage and development opportunities, and develop China into the most active market for data transactions in the world. Moreover, we can establish a world-leading standard system in the protection and classified sharing of public data, while strengthening the cultivation of relevant service industry.
