The launch ceremony of Beijing Data Group (BDG) in Beijing, Sept. 11, 2025. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]
Beijing Data Group (BDG) was officially launched on Sept. 11 during the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) held in Beijing, marking a major step in the capital's efforts to build itself into a global benchmark city for the digital economy.
The inauguration ceremony drew more than 500 representatives from national ministries, research institutes, state-owned enterprises, and leading internet and digital technology companies. Attendees noted Beijing's progress in strengthening national data infrastructure, unlocking the value of public data and cultivating a vibrant data industry ecosystem.
Xia Linmao, executive vice mayor of Beijing, said that the creation of BDG is both an urgent step to foster new quality productive forces and a strategic move to sharpen the city's competitive edge. He emphasized that the group will enhance two-way data flows between government and enterprises, expand the data industry, and further support Beijing's high-quality socioeconomic development.
Yu Ying, deputy director of the National Data Administration, called the initiative another key step in deepening reforms for the market-oriented allocation of data. She expressed her hopes that BDG would take the lead in building a unified national data market, contribute to international rule-making and standard-setting, and promote the global reach of China's data products and services.
According to Wu Lishun, director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, the group will focus on building a citywide public data resource platform, developing high-value data products and services, and ensuring secure and compliant data circulation to support enterprises along the industrial chain.
BDG President Guo Yonghao outlined the company's mission. He explained that the group will drive the development and use of public data, promote high-quality data circulation and transactions, balance growth with security, and enhance services across the entire data value chain, with the goal of becoming a flagship data enterprise rooted in Beijing and serving the nation.
At the ceremony, BDG signed strategic cooperation agreements with the Beijing Municipal Administration of Government Services and Data Management and more than 20 partners. Other agreements covered the establishment of disease-specific research databases on lung cancer and diabetes, as well as the launch of a digital and smart finance application innovation laboratory.
In the keynote session, Mei Hong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, highlighted new data management demands in the current era of ubiquitous connectivity. He noted that transforming data from a resource into a measurable, tradable asset — and ultimately into a marketable product — is key to unlocking its full economic potential.
Boris Otto, deputy chairman of the International Data Spaces Association Board, shared his take on data sovereignty, describing it as a provider's ability to maintain self-determination over the management and use of their data even when shared in an ecosystem. He also stressed the importance of data standardization, improving companies' data readiness, and deepening cooperation between stakeholders in China and Europe.
Institutions and enterprises including Zhipu AI, Alibaba Cloud, Beijing International Data Exchange and Beijing E-Town Intelligent City Research Institute also shared practical experiences on enhancing data value through AI, applying large models in government services, and advancing integrated data-model-computing-application solutions.
