Abstract:

[Purpose/Significance] With a new round of technological innovation and industrial transformation represented by artificial intelligence, the strategic value of data as a key production factor has become increasingly prominent. Data have risen to become an important driving force for reshaping national competition and driving economic growth. Therefore, analyzing the construction plan of the UK's National Data Library (NDL) can provide a useful reference and insight for the development of China's data factor market and the high-quality development of China's data industry. [Method/Process] The UK NDL construction project is an initiative promoted by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) of the UK government, aimed at building a "Great British Data Library" for the era of artificial intelligence, and establishing a national-level data infrastructure and AI data facility for cross-government, cross-sector, and cross-department data sharing. Based on an investigative analysis of the UK NDL construction plan, this article examines the origins, goals, steps, and challenges of the NDL construction, compares relevant planning documents with China's policies and measures regarding data elements, and further explains the key implications for China from four aspects: top-level design, implementation operations, value sharing, and ecosystem. [Results/Conclusions] The UK's NDL construction plan offers a deeper insight into the development of China's data element market because its focus is shifting from the physical "aggregation of data resources" to the systematic "construction of a data ecosystem". The UK's NDL construction has a strong economic and instrumental character. Its core goal is to leverage public data sharing to gain innovative returns and economic growth for private enterprises. In contrast, China places more emphasis on the empowerment of industry, technology, and society, stressing the role of data elements in driving the transformation and upgrading of various industries, serving broader economic development and the modernization of social governance. In building a national data infrastructure, China should regard the cultivation and construction of a data ecosystem as a systematic social project, establishing a multi-stakeholder data ecosystem involving government, industry, academia, and the public. The high-quality development of the national data industry and the construction of a data element market require us to maintain clarity and determination in top-level design, flexibility and pragmatism in implementation, fairness and innovation in value sharing, and ultimately inclusiveness and trust within the ecosystem. China possesses more abundant data resources, a more complete data environment, stronger social organizational capacity, and more comprehensive digital infrastructure. If it continues to innovate in areas such as a scientifically and reliably structured data element market, refined data governance frameworks, flexible and inclusive data regulatory environments, and healthy and sustainable data ecosystems, China will be able to more safely and efficiently realize the diffusion effects of data element value, forming a uniquely Chinese paradigm in the global competition of data governance.

Key words: National Data Library, United Kingdom, artificial intelligence, construction plan, data element