China Unveils Fifth Batch of 50 Public Data Demonstration Projects

China's National Data Administration has announced the fifth batch of 50 public data demonstration scenarios, bringing the nationwide total to 150 across five cohorts. Selected from 731 applications submitted since February, the latest projects highlight the integration of public data with corporate and social datasets in areas like disaster prevention, cultural preservation, agriculture, and meteorology. Regulators also reported that 25 provincial-level regions have commenced authorized public data operations, alongside more than 300,000 registered data items spanning all 97 national economic sectors.

Public data represents one of the most commercially valuable yet underutilized asset classes within China's digital economy. Expanding the roster to 150 operational demonstration projects signals a practical shift from cataloging and administrative hoarding to cross-sector integration. By combining public databases with enterprise and societal records, these pilots offer reusable frameworks for monetizing and utilizing data assets across vital economic sectors.

China's National Data Administration announced on August 25 the release of its fifth batch of 50 public data demonstration scenarios, marking a further expansion of Beijing's efforts to circulate and commercialize state-held information assets. With this latest cohort, the central government has approved a cumulative total of 150 demonstration scenarios across five rounds, according to state media coverage of an agency press briefing in Beijing. Speaking at the briefing, National Data Administration Deputy Director Chen Ronghui stated that the agency initiated the application window for this batch in February, drawing 731 proposals from across the country. Following an expert evaluation process, 50 initiatives were chosen. Highlighted projects include an open public earthquake data platform designed to upgrade regional seismic risk prevention, as well as a digital curation and intelligent application framework for national folk literature and artistic assets. Chen noted that the newly unveiled cohort is characterized by deep fusion among government datasets, enterprise information, and broader social data. Demand for cross-sector data integration has proven especially pronounced in sectors such as agriculture, meteorology, and macroeconomic analysis, broadening the diversity of available digital resources. To institutionalize the development of public data resources, the agency is advancing three core administrative measures. First, authorities continue to expand a unified national registry for public data assets. The registry currently contains more than 300,000 registered data resources, products, and services, spanning all 97 major sectors of the national economy. Second, the agency is standardizing the execution of authorized public data operations. To date, 25 provincial-level jurisdictions have formally commenced substantive authorized operations. Third, the regulator is instituting clear administrative accountability systems, establishing permanent operational mechanisms alongside ministries and departments that hold high-density data reserves or face urgent social demand. Looking ahead, the National Data Administration plans to use the demonstration projects to steer data utilization in strategic industries. Regulators indicated they will guide relevant government departments through the entire lifecycle of resource development and utilization, aiming to unlock latent economic value and support industrial modernization.