Beijing plans to build a pilot digital trade zone

Beijing is planning to build a pilot zone for digital trade and big data exchange in a bid to boost technological innovation and opening-up of its services sector and digital economy, according to plans released by authorities on Monday.

An array of documents facilitating the making of the trade zone was released by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau and Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration.

On September 4, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country's central government supports Beijing's initiative in his opening address at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) via video. "We will support the municipality in developing a national integrated demonstration zone for greater openness in the services sector. It will enable Beijing to take bigger, bolder steps as a trailblazer and gain more experience that would be replicable and scalable."

The plans propose building a system and mechanism for digital economy development, and will focus on the six major spheres of infrastructure construction, digital industrialization, industry digitization, digital governance, data valuation, and digital trade development.

Beijing's digital economy is planned to account for 55 percent of the region's GDP by 2022, making Beijing a pioneer and demonstration zone for the development of the national digital economy.

Aside from this, an international big data exchange will be put in place in Beijing, featuring authoritative data information registration, widely recognized data exchange, data operation and management covering the full industrial chain, data-centric financial innovation service, and new technology-driven data financial technology.

The data exchange is set to integrate data resources, standardize data exchange, and promote networked sharing, intensive integration, collaborative development and efficient utilization of data elements, thus galvanizing Beijing's industrial upgrading and high-quality economic development.

In addition to the plans mentioned the government will explore a pilot project for cross-border data flow and security management, so as to provide strong policy, management and security guarantees for the making of Beijing pilot digital trade zone.