A panoramic night view of the Lin-gang Special Area. [Photo/IC]

The Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone – located in East China's Shanghai city – recently unveiled a three-year (2023-2025) plan for its data industry, under which it will build a center for international data exchanges and deliveries.

The international data research center will work on confirmation standards, unified registrations, centralized settlements and cross-border deliveries.

Lin-gang will also set up an international trade platform for digital products. This will aim to boost the mutual trust in the digital exchange and to integrate the technologies for big data, block chain, privacy computing, among other things, to ensure reliable data trading.

Under the plan, Lin-gang will speed up the construction of a global digital economy innovation island which it calls the "information flying fish". Its goal is to boost the cross-border flow of data, attract more digital-innovative companies and for it to join the construction of an international data management system.

In addition, the area will build a platform for cross-border research and digital trade, as well as a service platform integrating the functions of the data center, internet exchanges, as well as dedicated data channels and cross-border data flows.

Its aim is to foster an industry cluster attracting a group of international enterprises – with the focus on shipping logistics, financial services, cross-border trade, intelligent manufacturing and the cultural innovation sectors.

"The digital economy is a new track which serves as a key engine to boost the transformation of emerging and traditional industries," said Huang Jianzhong, president of the Shanghai Society of International Trade.

To date, the Lin-gang Special Area has made innovative achievements in digital infrastructure, digital content companies and cross-border data flows. It is expected to continue its efforts to accelerate the construction of systems for digital trade standards, digital resource protection and digital trade statistics.

It will also continue to establish platforms for digital trade supervision and online exhibitions, combine cloud services and digital services and integrate digital content and cross-border e-commerce.

Furthermore, it will focus on digital applications and manufacturing, trade digitization and the digitization of exhibitions - to explore new scenarios, formats and modes of digital trade and to promote the development of a digital trade ecosystem.