Shanghai Daily

Call for better data sharing to boost digital economy

- Ding Yining

EXECUTIVES from retail businesses and academics have proposed improvemen­ts in data sharing and relaxed business registrati­on procedures to help revitalize small businesses and maintain stable economic developmen­t.

The chairman of appliance retailer and e-commerce giant Suning Holdings Group, Zhang Jindong, a deputy to the National People’s Congress, proposed government-owned public data and urban management data be better shared amid China’s push to develop digital infrastruc­ture.

He also pointed to the inconsiste­ncy of government and industry data which has prevented the developmen­t of a data economy and social services.

Zhang proposed the establishm­ent of a data governance committee to develop a datasharin­g mechanism to ensure better leveraging of accurate and real-time data.

“It helps business decisions and also individual users to better interconne­ct with each other and promote better interactio­n,” he said.

Liu Shangxi, a director of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal

Sciences, proposed different forms of consumptio­n subsidies and coupons to target small and micro businesses, which are crucial for employment and basic living needs.

Liu, also a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultati­ve Conference, pointed out that every 1 yuan (14 US cents) worth of shopping coupons could create about 2.9 yuan of transactio­ns for small and micro businesses, based on analysis of Alipay data for Foshan City in Guangdong Province.

Well-designed consumptio­n stimulus measures can boost the economy with limited fiscal spending, he said.

Chairman Wang Tian of the Better Life Commercial Chain Co proposed the government set up standardiz­ed packaging and transporta­tion facilities near major agricultur­al production bases to help improve the freshness and quality of food.

Retail chains should be encouraged to use their expertise to develop cold chain transporta­tion facilities, and fresh food post-processing standards will help farmers focus more on quality, in turn boosting spending on farm goods.

Small and micro fast food restaurant­s should be encouraged to go online more quickly with a temporary registrati­on scheme, suggested Marvin Hung, CEO of Hop Hing Group Holdings Ltd which co-owns the Yoshinoya, a Japanese multinatio­nal fast food chain, on the Chinese mainland.

This could help more food vendors make up for the loss of foot traffic during the novel coronaviru­s pandemic.

Hung, a member of the CPPCC, called for a nationwide database of eligible catering businesses to make it easier for food delivery platforms to help vendors set up online storefront­s.

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