Binjiang exemplifies digital economy in new era of reform and opening up

Since its establishment in 2023, the China Data-Element Valley has influenced the digital economy of Hangzhou’s Binjiang District. On October 22, the local government presented its main accomplishments at the 2024 Data Element Development Conference.

Binjiang has already established a mode in the valley after a year of development, known as the “three data and one chain,” which alludes to the Hangzhou Data Exchange, digital certificates for data compliance circulation, the Internet of data, and a blockchain-based mutual recognition mechanism.

In a variety of markets, Hangzhou Data Exchange stimulates the digital economy and encourages the effective sharing and utilization of the company, public and regulatory data. The purpose of the digital certificate for data compliance circulation is to increase circulation efficiency, safeguard legitimate transactions and guarantee data security.

“The mode has helped government and companies solve difficulties in data circulation rights confirmation, mutual trust and regulation,” said Chen Yu, a representative for the Binjiang government. “The mode is one of the core outcomes of the data valley during the last year.”

The first group of pilot companies, a compliance committee made up of 15 specialists, including attorneys, law professors and business founders, plus a pilot scheme framework for data trading were all issued by Binjiang in April.

The number of pilot companies has significantly increased to 46. The paradigm has already been used in a variety of contexts, such as biology, multimedia and finance. To strike a balance between management and monitoring, the committee has worked with local authorities on evaluation and supervision.

“The valley also takes initiatives in building the first intellectual property ecological experimental zone in Zhejiang Province, issuing the country’s first data IP pledge standard and securitized products business,” Chen said.

Binjiang District launched the Hangzhou High-Tech Data United Interconnection Technology Co during the conference, which will support the development and operation of open-source co-creation networks and data infrastructures.

The Binjiang government and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology began collaborating on standards research, designing and planning data infrastructure, and building a data element ecosystem last month.

Together, the two parties will establish the Data Infrastructure Evaluation Center and the Data Element Joint Innovation Center, combining Binjiang’s industrial resources with CAICT’s research advantages.

The local government also said that it would create an innovation center to support the development of data in the financial and agriculture sectors, effectively and consistently investigating the data value and application scenarios.

To build data infrastructure and collaborate in the digital economy, the Binjiang government signed agreements with Jiaxing of Zhejiang Province, Ganzhou of Jiangxi Province, Yangzhou of Jiangsu Province, and Xuancheng of Anhui Province during the conference.

“The interconnectivity of data infrastructures can further empower local industries, leverage scale advantages, lower costs, and facilitate the circulation and utilization of data elements,” said Zheng Li, director of the Binjiang Development and Reform Commission.

“In the future, the data valley has to expand beyond Hangzhou and connect to further cities. Our goal for the upcoming year is to build data infrastructures that will encourage inter-regional cooperation.”

The valley was created as a test site to apply the 20 important data metrics that the central government had started. By urging provinces and municipalities to fully utilize data elements, the 20 measures emphasize the significance of a contemporary industrial system driven by the digital economy.

This is regarded as “a landmark, overarching and strategic move” to further advance China’s reform and opening up in the new era.

Since the beginning of the valley, Binjiang’s digital economy has grown faster. As of September, 1,631 data merchants had registered, and 2,601 data items totaling 4.81 billion yuan (US$676 million) in cumulative transaction value had been issued on the data exchange.

Dubbed “China’s first digital district,” Binjiang exemplifies the digital economy, with its digital industries contributing 186.6 billion yuan in value added last year, accounting for approximately 75.6 percent of the district’s GDP.

The district government aims to collaborate with businesses, organizations and academic institutions to make the valley a leading digital economy hub in Zhejiang.