China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced the need for increased cross-border security management of big data until 2025, in a five-year plan issued on Tuesday, reports Reuters. The plan, which expands upon China’s 14th Five-Year Plan published earlier this year, comes as the nation has prioritized its regulatory framework for data and technology. It re-affirms data as a “factor of production” and a “national strategic resource.”
The plan contains six key tasks, including improving the “marketization” of data, improving computing power, and playing a leading role in developing global technology standards.
It also called for strengthening of management of cross-border data flows and more support for open source initiatives. The scale of China’s big data industry will exceed RMB 3 trillion ($470.79 billion) by the end of 2025, MIIT estimated.