The China Southeast Big Data Industrial Park in Fuzhou, a center for high-tech enterprises. Photo: Lin Shijie

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China is willing to deepen international data cooperation within the framework of the Global Development Initiative, as he sent a congratulatory message to the 4th UN World Data Forum, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

In the congratulatory message, Xi stressed that China supports and implements the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and adheres to a new philosophy of innovative, coordinated, green, open and inclusive development. 

China will work with other countries to help promote the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through "data governance," build open and win-win international cooperation in the data field, and promote the common development and progress of all countries, Xi said.

The 4th UN World Data Forum kicked off in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province on Monday, where more than 2,000 data experts from 140 countries and regions gathered to find solutions for equitable and open access to data.

"Better data is central to accelerating progress toward the SDGs and addressing the multiple crises that are threatening poverty eradication, food security, the environment, and peace and security," the forum said in a press release on Monday. SDGs stands for Sustainable Development Goals. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said that President Xi's congratulatory message fully reflects the great importance attached to the forum. 

Ding called for adhering to true multilateralism, deepening global digital governance, breaking down digital barriers, deepening data interconnection, and actively expanding digital partnerships that are equal, open and cooperative, according to Xinhua. 

He called for enhanced efforts to promote fair development, continuously close the digital gap, and create an open, inclusive, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for digital economy development.

Ding also expounded on China's efforts to promote development in data. China will accelerate the innovation and application of digital technology, give full play to the advantages of its massive data scale and rich application scenarios, promote the efficient circulation and use of data, make the digital economy stronger and bigger, enhance the new momentum of economic development, and provide a powerful force for promoting high-quality development, Ding said. 

The forum's secretariat also stressed in the press release that partnerships and innovation are key to data equality and ensuring that no one is left behind, and resilient national data ecosystems need support, including sustainable funding, to ensure they are fit for the future, and everyone benefits from it.

Analysts noted China's robust data industry and fast development which will help boost global cooperation and development in data. 

"The foundation for the development of China's digital economy is solid, there are a large number of industrial applications, and China's overall digitalization level is very high which have laid a good foundation for the next step to make the country's digital economy bigger, better and stronger," Wang Peng, a research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday. 

As of the end of 2021, the scale of China's digital economy ballooned to 45.5 trillion yuan, doubling the level in 2016 and accounting for 39.8 percent of GDP that year, according to the China Digital Economy Development Report 2022. The report predicted the scale of China's digital economy to exceed 60 trillion yuan by 2025.

The remarks by top officials showed the Chinese government's support and encouragement for expanding the digital economy, which accounts for about 40 percent of the nation's GDP now, and it is playing a more and more important role in stabilizing and supporting the real economy, Liu Dingding, a veteran internet industry observer, told the Global Times on Monday. 

China's efforts to promote global data cooperation will help the world tackle pressing issues, as data is becoming increasingly crucial for finding solutions to global crises, analysts noted. 

"We can't carve out effective solutions to the problems we're facing if we don't fully understand who, what, when, where and why of the sources and the impacts. We need robust data that can give us the insights we need," said Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and head of the Forum secretariat, was quoted by the press release as saying.