Beijing E-Town to accelerate development of data industry

Beijing E-Town recently released a package of measures on accelerating the high-quality development of the data industry.

According to the measures, the area will explore the establishment of an inclusive, prudent, and flexible regulatory model regarding data in fields such as autonomous driving, healthcare, financial consumption, and industrial manufacturing. It will promote the implementation of a liability exemption mechanism and strive to expand the boundaries of compliant data use.

At the same time, efforts will be made to build a high-standard public data training base, explore a joint government-enterprise model for developing high-quality datasets, support enterprises in actively seeking authorization to operate central and local public data, and explore pricing mechanisms for public data authorization in areas such as autonomous driving and aerospace.

To provide support for enterprises, the latest measures aim to establish a tiered subsidy system that ensures businesses' broad accessibility to financing while focusing on key sectors.

Specifically, an annual fund of 100 million yuan (US$14 million) in "data vouchers" will directly subsidize the purchase of data products, meeting the data usage needs of enterprises of all sizes. Up to 10 million yuan and 20 million yuan in support will be provided for data labeling service platforms and data circulation infrastructure, respectively, targeting key bottlenecks. For enterprises engaged in cross-border data compliance and related activities, subsidies ranging from 500,000 yuan to 1 million yuan will be offered to address critical challenges in the marketization of data as a production factor.

The measures also aim at developing an industry cluster area. To foster the cluster, Beijing E-Town will support the development of data enterprise incubators and the establishment of shared spaces such as exhibition centers, co-working spaces, and roadshow centers. 

Beijing E-Town will also build high-speed information networks by accelerating 5G signal enhancement and upgrading to 10-gigabit optical networks, as well as supporting the renovation and upgrading of communication infrastructure such as urban optical fiber networks. Additionally, inclusive and open computing power services will be provided, along with support for the transformation and upgrading of existing data centers.