On October 20th, a new central enterprise, National Data Group, was established in Xiong'an New Area, Hebei Province. Xinhua News Agency released a message on the same day, and a few days later, the People's Daily spent almost an entire page questioning: What is the profound meaning behind the establishment of this new state-owned enterprise?
Why is it worth the attention of two major central media outlets when a state-owned enterprise is established?
Because the main responsibility of this enterprise is only one thing: the development and utilization of data resources. Its shareholder list can better illustrate its weight - the State Council, Xiong'an New Area Management Committee, plus China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile, State Grid, and Southern Power Grid. In the words of Professor Sun Yi of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, what these shareholders have deposited is a rare "rich mine" of data elements: communication data of more than one billion users, power operation data covering the whole country
The signal at the national level is already very clear: the game of data has entered the stage of "physical operation" from "top-level design".
So the question is: What does the departure of the national team have to do with the enterprises in our county?
The relationship is significant. And the further you look down, the more direct the relationship becomes.
1、 Data has transformed from a 'resource' to an 'asset', and the country is turning it into a 'business'
First, let's take a look at a few sets of numbers:
In the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan, the national integrated data market was included in the five-year plan for the first time, and the market-oriented allocation reform of data elements became the top priority of the National Data Administration in 2026;
By 2024, the trading scale of the national data market has exceeded 160 billion yuan;
More than 120000 high-quality datasets have been built nationwide, but there is still a shortage of supply - according to a report by People's Daily, the shortage of high-quality data has become a prominent weakness that restricts the development of artificial intelligence.
Translated into a logic that a county can understand: Data is no longer a cost lying on servers, but a production factor that can be registered, valued, traded, and pledged - the fifth largest production factor alongside land, labor, capital, and technology.
The mission of the National Data Group is to connect, govern, and revitalize this data at the national level. But the national team is in charge of the "big arteries" of the country, and the "capillaries" of county-level data need to be cleared by local entities. There are over 1800 counties in China, and the massive amount of data accumulated in the fields of government affairs, people's livelihood, commerce, and industry at the county level - these "data rich mines at the doorstep" - require the county's own professional entities to undertake and operate them.
This is precisely the second signal released by the establishment of the National Data Group: central local linkage and industrial synergy. The state sets up the stage, and the county sings opera. The problem is that there must be 'people who can sing opera' in the county.
2、 What can the data in the hands of the county accomplish?
Don't look at the virtual, look at a few real cases that have already run through the county:
▶ Hanshan County, Anhui Province - Integrating and processing public data such as social security and housing provident fund into the "Nine Chapters Intelligent Computing Credit Assistant" to help banks with inclusive finance risk control. On the day the product was listed on the data exchange, it received purchase intentions from 9 banks with a total amount of nearly one million yuan.
▶ Minqing County, Fujian - Develop public transportation data into data products and complete transactions on the Beijing International Big Data Exchange. The daily passenger flow data of buses has become a product that can be sold for money.
▶ Pujiang County, Zhejiang Province - "AI+Meteorological Data" empowers the local grape industry, and data authorization and operation have been implemented. Farmers who grow grapes have used data services.
▶ Binhai County, Jiangsu - Medical institution drug usage data has been developed into products and transactions have also been completed.
Have you figured out the way? Data itself is not valuable, it is only valuable when processed into products that can solve specific problems. Banks lack risk control data, industries lack decision-making basis, and governments lack governance tools - these demands can be met by county-level data.
Let's take another look at a more 'thirst quenching' use. Currently, state-owned enterprises and urban investment platforms in counties generally have high debt ratios and difficulties in financing, and the land and real estate that can be mortgaged have long been mortgaged. After data assets are added to the balance sheet, they can directly increase assets, reduce debt ratios, and obtain credit from banks by pledging data assets - currently, about 50 urban investment companies in China have completed data asset entry into the balance sheet. Not relying on strong financial resources, but on solid data, this is a new path for county-level state-owned enterprise financing.
3、 Opportunities lie ahead, and the county needs its own 'data operation company'
The reason is not complicated, but when it comes to implementation, there are many steps involved: data collection, governance and desensitization, property rights registration, evaluation and inclusion in the table, and coordination with banks and data exchanges... Each department in the county has its own way of handling data, and state-owned enterprises lack both manpower and experience. It is difficult to achieve success by relying on temporary reinforcement.
So more and more counties are starting to establish county-level data operation companies, with such a professional entity rooted in the local area, to run the entire chain. Its business model is very clear, with three major business segments progressing layer by layer:
The first step is to finance the entry of data assets into the balance sheet. Collect the dormant data of the county's government affairs, people's livelihood, and industries, govern, confirm rights, value, and record them in the financial statements, help state-owned enterprises increase their assets and optimize their financial statements, and then use data assets as collateral for financing - turning "dormant data" into "assets on financial statements and funds in accounts".
The second part is data product development and trading. Based on the dual wheel drive of commercial data and public data, develop data products around local characteristic industries, supply chain finance, and people's livelihood governance, and continuously monetize them through data exchanges. The road taken by Hanshan, Minqing, Pujiang, and Binhai mentioned earlier is this one.
The third part is government server hosting. Undertaking server hosting, cloud deployment, and operation and maintenance of government systems, using "basic operation and maintenance guarantee+value-added service sharing" to maintain stable cash flow, and the data accumulated during the operation and maintenance process feeds back into product development - forming a complete closed loop.
In one sentence: Technical services ensure the foundation, data entry into the table increases assets, and data products continue to make money.
In conclusion
From the listing of the National Data Administration in 2023, to the establishment of the National Data Group this year, and to the inclusion of the "National Integrated Data Market" in the five-year plan - data element marketization, it has become a mandatory question for every county, rather than an optional one.
The window period is fleeting, and the county should plan early and take the initiative early.
This is exactly what we are doing. As a data asset operation service provider rooted in the county, we help local governments and state-owned enterprises build a data operation system: collect scattered data, clean up governance, ensure ownership, evaluate and list it, connect with banks to complete pledge financing, and then process the data into products and send them to exchanges - allowing every county's data base to complete the complete journey of "resources assets capital".
The National Data Group has settled in Xiong'an, creating a nationwide "big cycle"; County level data operation companies are rooted in their hometowns, connecting the "microcirculation" at their doorstep.
The major circulation has started, and the microcirculation should stand still. Are you ready?
