Xi wants big data to make lives better

President also calls for tech firms to aid manufacturing, governments, security

Implementing a big data strategy to better serve the country’s development and improve people’s lives should be accelerated, President Xi Jinping said at a key meeting.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remark at a collective study session of the CPC Central Committee’s Political Bureau on Friday.

“We should target cutting-edge technology and mobilize prime resources to make breakthroughs in developing core big data technology, and accelerate building an independent and controllable industrial chain, value chain and ecosystem of big data,” Xi said.

The president called for efforts to advance national big data strategy, improve digital infrastructure, promote integration and sharing of digital resources and safeguard data security.

The market should play a key role in the mission, and data must work as a bridge to integrate production, study and research, he said.

A group of pioneering companies and a varied and diverse talent workforce also should be established, he said.

Xi underscored the importance of building a digital economy with data as a key factor, highlighting the fact that research on and use of big data is indispensable in building a modern economy.

The internet, big data and artificial intelligence and the real economy all should be interconnected, the president said, adding that industrialization and the use of information should be integrated deeper.

Xi also emphasized the necessity of using big data to improve governance. A nationwide information-sharing platform should be set up with the use of e-government and smart city systems.

He also ordered efforts to improve internet governance and clean up cyberspace.

Xi urged a better use of big data in improving people’s well-being, calling for the advancement of “internet plus education”, “internet plus medical treatment” and “internet plus culture” to further ensure citizens’ equitable access to public services.

He called for solving problems, especially prominent problems that relate to people’s well-being, urging the widespread use of big data in areas such as education, employment, social security, medicine and the healthcare system, housing and transportation.

Big data also should be used extensively in implementing targeted poverty reduction and environmental protection, he said.

Efforts also should be made to safeguard and secure the nation’s data, Xi said, urging strengthened ability to protect crucial data resources, speed up relevant legislation and improve protection of data property rights.

Protection of technical patents, digital copyrights and individual privacy should be enhanced to safeguard people’s interests, social stability and national security, the president said.

He pressed for increasing research on international data governance rules and urged leading officials at all levels to intensively study big data and improve their ability to use big data in their work.

Xinhua contributed to this story.