(Yicai) June 7 -- China’s ability to process data and perform calculations using computers increased by around 30 percent last year, according to a new report.

More than half of the country’s computing power was concentrated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta regions as of 2023, the report by the National Industrial Information Security Development Research Center said recently.

There was rapid growth in the scale of computing power in China and strong demand for intelligent computing capabilities, with intelligent computing making up about 30 percent of the total, the NIISDRC noted.

Demand for real-time computing in eastern regions surged, with real-time data processing relying on local storage and computing power, it said.

Data output jumped 22 percent to 32.85 zettabytes from the year before, equal to the total digital resources of more than 10 million libraries in China. It will likely increase by 25 percent this year, the think tank predicted.

Total data storage capacity was 2.93 ZB, with a storage utilization rate of 59 percent. Data storage capacity and layout are relatively adequate, with less cloud storage than terminal storage.

Data storage capacity meets needs, but it is important to plan ahead to meet the massive data demand of future industrial development, the report said, adding that the share of data stored in the cloud is slightly less than that of terminal storage. 

Among key enterprises in various industries, terminal storage accounts for more than 70 percent of their data storage, with dispersed storage being quite common, making data interconnection and reuse more difficult.

With the rapid development of fifth-generation and artificial intelligence technologies, new business models in the consumer lifestyle field, including content creation and audiovisual media, are continuously emerging, said NIISDRC Director Jiang Yan.

The unstructured data generated from these developments significantly contributes to the total volume of data in China, Jiang added.

But standout issues remain, including the immediate disposal of massive data sources, stored unused data, and inadequate spillover effects of data value, the report pointed out. China added 0.95 ZB of new storage capacity last year, with only 2.9 percent of data produced being preserved. 

In addition, the support capabilities of large language models and training tools are inadequate, resulting in the value of massive data development and utilization being lower than the storage cost.

The high data output and low storage phenomenon is a common globally, noted Zhang Xianghong, professor at the International Center for Informatics Research of Beijing Jiaotong University. Data is like fruit -- it quickly loses value due to spoilage, Zhang said.

But from another perspective, this indicates that there is still room for improvement in China's development and utilization of data resources, Zhang pointed out.

China will promote the reform of the market-oriented allocation of data elements, Liu Liehong, director of the National Data Administration, said last month.

The country aims to establish and improve the data property rights system, Liu noted, as well as draw up policies to promote compliant and efficient data circulation and transactions, set up a system for distributing the benefits of data elements, and improve the governance mechanism for the safe circulation and utilization of data.

Editor: Martin Kadiev