Ma Kai, vice premier of China's State Council, speaks during the opening ceremony of the Guiyang International Big Data Expo. (Photo : Getty Images)
China officially unveiled its first national engineering laboratory that will be used for big data distribution and exchange technologies. This is a move that will help the country in the application of big data, in seeking breakthroughs in research, and in boosting China's digital economy.
The national engineering lab is a joint venture between China United Network Communications Group Co., China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, China Internet Network Information Center, Shanghai Data Exchange Corp., and Fudan University. It is aimed at enhancing China's ability in supporting fundamental sectors of big data.
Inspur Group Co Ltd., one of the largest global data centers and cloud computing providers in the world, also contributed to the lab's launch.
Tang Qifeng, the CEO of Shanghai Data Exchange Corp., said: "We are really honored to have the opportunity to lead the construction of the national engineering lab. We will work closely with our partners to promote the research of key technologies and applications of big data in different fields."
Tang added: "The lab will develop core technologies of big data, build application and innovation centers in terms of finance, media, energy, healthcare, education, advanced manufacturing and other areas and launch research centers to help the nation better manage big data."
"The key is to further the application of big data. The application drives the development of both big data technologies and related industries," said Yang Shanlin, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the national engineering lab.
China's National Development and Reform Commission formally approved the construction of the lab in February, and it will be officially called "National Engineering Laboratory for Big Data Distribution and Exchange Technologies."
According to Tang, one-third of the investment for the big data engineering lab came from China's National Development and Reform Commission, and the rest was contributed by Shanghai Data Exchange Corp and its partners.
