Photo: Courtesy of Beijing International Big Data Exchange Company Ltd

The Beijing International Big Data Exchange launched a blockchain technology-based data trading contract mode on Friday, bringing the capital city's goal to become a global digital economy hub a step closer. 

During a Friday online event to show the results of the big data exchange since its launch in March, officials said the data trading exchange has established cooperation with multiple parties, ranging from tech companies and Chinese banks to local governments and hospitals. 

The blockchain technology-based data trading contract mode is an innovation backed by mass data at the exchange and advanced technologies, said the officials. 

"Like a hypermarket, we sell fresh food - raw data - as well as processed food, in the form of classified data products. In addition, we provide tailored data services in order to satisfy a variety of trading demands from different customers," an official with the Beijing International Big Data Exchange said on Friday. 

During the process of building Beijing into a global digital economy leader, new infrastructure should be built at a faster speed, the official suggested. 

In the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), data is designated as one of the "factors of production" and a backbone of China's economy, on par with land, labor, capital and technology. 

In 2020, the US' digital economy sector led the world with a value of $13.6 trillion and China ranked second at $5.4 trillion, said a report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology in August. 

At Friday's online event, officials from local hospitals also called for cooperation with the exchange and data companies as they find it hard to take advantage of the mass data at the hospitals. 

"We have stored medical data in the hospital for over a decade. But it is far from enough to make use of the data by the staff at our hospital alone. We hope big data companies could work with us to push forward the application of medical data," Zhao Qianqian, an official at Beijing's Chaoyang Hospital, said at the event.