On July 26, 2024, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) issued the Circular on Strengthening the Security Management of Surveying and Mapping Geographic Information Related to Intelligent Connected Vehicles (the "Circular") in accordance with the Surveying and Mapping Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets, the Data Security Law of the People's Republic of China, the Administrative Regulations on Maps, and other laws and regulations, aiming to safeguard the security of surveying and mapping geographic information and promote the development of intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs).

According to the Circular, the collection, storage, transmission, and processing of geographic information and data (including road topology data)—such as spatial coordinates, real-scene images (videos, images and other environmental perception data), point clouds and their attribute information of vehicles and surrounding road facilities—during the operation, service, and testing of ICVs constitute surveying and mapping activities as defined by the Surveying and Mapping Law of the People's Republic of China, and these activities will be regulated and managed in accordance with surveying and mapping laws and regulations.

The aforesaid geographic information and data must be stored within the territory of China, and the storage devices, networks, and cloud services used must comply with relevant national security and confidentiality requirements. Applications to provide geographic information and data to overseas recipients must strictly follow the approval or map review procedures for external provision and comply with regulations on security assessments for outbound cross-border data transfers.

NDA to Roll out Eight Policy Documents This Year

【2024-07-02】

On July 2, 2024, Liu Liehong, Director of the National Data Administration (NDA), announced at the 2024 Global Digital Economy Conference that the NDA will roll out eight policy documents throughout the year. These documents will cover areas including data property rights, data circulation, benefit distribution, security governance, public data development and utilization, corporate data development and utilization, high-quality development of the digital economy, and guidelines for building data infrastructure.

Liu highlighted the importance of reform and innovation in unlocking the value of data as a key production factor. He emphasized that the NDA would bolster policy support to transform China’s extensive data resources into new national competitive advantages, driving high-quality development and advancing the Chinese path to modernization.

Regarding measures to improve effectiveness and impact of building a Digital China, Liu stated that the NDA will continue to strengthen the overall coordination and policy alignment, accelerate the building of data infrastructure and foundational systems, vigorously develop the digital economy, and elevate the digital public services. Efforts will also be made to ensure a balanced approach to digital development and security, improve the mechanisms for advancing the Digital China initiative, and promote its development in a holistic, systematic, and coordinated manner.

Hangzhou Releases Implementation Opinions on the High-Standard Building of "China Data Valley" to Promote Data Factor Circulation

【2024-07-17】

The Hangzhou Municipal People's Government has formulated and released the Implementation Opinions of the General Office of the Hangzhou Municipal People's Government on the High-Standard Building of "China Data Valley" to Promote Data Factor Circulation (the "Implementation Opinions"). This policy document, tailored to Hangzhou's specific conditions, aligns with national, provincial and municipal policies to foster the data factor market.

The Implementation Opinions outline ambitious goals for Hangzhou by 2026: creating over 15 high-quality datasets, rolling out more than 20 scenarios where public data can be authorized for commercial operation, attracting 700+ data merchants, launching 1,000+ data products and services, and achieving a cumulative transaction value exceeding CNY 10 billion. The city aims to establish three or more cross-regional public service demonstration platforms for the data factor industry.

The Implementation Opinions focus on six key areas: new systems, new infrastructure, new supply, new markets, new ecosystems, and new applications to drive the market-oriented allocation reform of data factors.

Key initiatives outlined in the Implementation Opinions include: (1) Promoting the "China Data Valley" industrial cluster; (2) Exploring local legislation on data factors; (3) Optimizing the layout of data infrastructure, encouraging the adoption of domestically developed foundational software and hardware technologies, and advancing the "Three Data-related Elements and One Chain" system (which integrates data trading platforms, data invoices, the Internet of data and a cross-blockchain mutual recognition mechanism); and (4) Developing and supporting data merchants and third-party professional service organizations, establishing a resource pool for data merchants, selecting exemplary models, promoting the growth of technical, application-oriented, and service-focused data merchants, and guiding them into the "Three Data-related Elements and One Chain" system, to enhance the development of the data merchant community.