China’s Data Industry Set to Surge to 7.5 Trillion Yuan by 2030, Fueling AI Progress
China is accelerating the growth of its data industry, targeting an expansion to 7.5 trillion yuan (around 1.04 trillion U.S. dollars) by 2030. This push aims to drive significant advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology by strengthening both upstream and downstream sectors in the data industry chain.
As the first country to officially recognize data as a production factor, China has built a comprehensive data industry ecosystem. The National Data Administration (NDA) confirmed at the Data Security Development Conference 2025 in Zhejiang Province that efforts are underway to complete a fully integrated national data infrastructure by 2029.
Data Growth and Industry Scale
In 2024, China generated 41.06 zettabytes of data, marking a 25% increase compared to the previous year. There are now over 190,000 data-related enterprises nationwide, with the sector’s value topping 2 trillion yuan (approximately 277.51 billion U.S. dollars). With an annual growth rate exceeding 20%, the industry is projected to reach 7.5 trillion yuan by 2030.
Building a Connected Data Infrastructure
The plan includes creating a horizontally connected, vertically integrated, and powerfully coordinated data system. This infrastructure will support the efficient sharing and flow of data, boosting market activity and enabling more effective AI development.
Open sharing of public data is a key focus. In 2024, the number of open public data platforms rose by 7.5%, data volume grew by 7.1%, and the availability of high-quality datasets increased by 27.4%. Removing barriers between public and enterprise data sets is expected to activate large reserves of underutilized data.
Data Annotation: The Backbone of AI Models
High-quality datasets are essential for improving AI performance and transforming industries. The process of building these datasets involves data collection, cleaning, annotation, and quality assessment. Annotation, or labeling, teaches AI to interpret data correctly—without it, AI cannot learn effectively.
China has made significant investments in data annotation, with the industry’s output value surpassing 8 billion yuan (about 1.11 billion U.S. dollars). Seven annotation bases have been established nationwide, supporting 335 high-quality datasets across sectors like healthcare, industry, and education. The total annotation volume has reached 1.7 trillion terabytes, aiding the development of 121 domestic large AI models.
Wenzhou: A Testing Ground for Data Market Reform
Wenzhou city serves as a pilot area for market-oriented data reforms, establishing a secure data compliance system that encourages large-scale data exchange and creates a thriving data trading ecosystem. The city has developed 469 practical and secure data products, with valuable datasets in healthcare, transportation, and the low-altitude economy.
AI and Data Industry Growth
- AI-related enterprises grew by 36% year-on-year in 2024.
- High-quality datasets increased by 27.4%, supporting AI training and applications.
- Data technology and application companies utilizing large AI models rose by 57.21% and 37.14%, respectively.
These developments highlight China's commitment to leveraging data as a core driver for AI breakthroughs and industrial transformation. For IT professionals and developers, this signals growing opportunities in data management, annotation, and AI model development.
To explore practical AI skills and courses that align with these industry trends, check out resources like Complete AI Training, which offers up-to-date training on AI technologies and data applications.
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