CX Daily: The Role of China’s Newly Created National Data Bureau

New arm of the NDRC is expected to balance supervision of data with encouragement of the digital economy, accounting for 17% of GDP

Mar 15, 2023

Data /

In Depth: The role of China’s newly created National Data Bureau

China’s creation of a National Data Bureau to coordinate sharing and development of data resources is an effort to balance supervision with encouragement of the digital economy, industry experts said.

Accounting for 17% of GDP, the digital economy is at the center of China’s drive to create new national competitive advantages, State Councilor Xiao Jie said when presenting the plan to the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature. That makes it necessary to strengthen management, development and application of data, Xiao said.

Sexual harassment /

In workplace harassment cases, China gives women’s voices more weight, experts say

China’s recently released document on workplace sexual harassment will better protect female workers as it advises giving more weight to a victim’s perception than a harasser’s intentions, experts told Caixin.

Three government departments, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and three nongovernment organizations jointly issued a reference text last week to guide employers on improving systems for eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace and effectively protecting the rights and interests of female workers.

FINANCE & ECONOMY

Visas /

China to resume issuing range of visas to foreigners

China will resume issuing various types of visas to tourists and other foreign travelers starting Wednesday as the country lifts some of the last Covid restrictions that have hampered cross-border travel for the past three years.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the move includes allowing foreigners with visas issued before March 28, 2020, which are still valid, to enter China.

Quick hits /

Hong Kong GDP outlook gets a lift as Singapore sees high costs
Silicon Valley Bank collapse spotlights SoftBank’s startup financing

BUSINESS & TECH

The total number of direct flights between the two countries is 40, just over a 10th of the average of 317 weekly before the pandemic.

Flights /

Flight service rebound between China and U.S. remains stalled

Travelers flying between China and the United States are likely to continue feeling the pinch of tight and pricey services as the two governments retain limits on the number of flights imposed during the pandemic.

China’s flag carrier Air China applied in late February to the U.S. Department of Transportation to add one weekly direct flight between Beijing and New York starting March 4, a government document showed. The service, CA981/982, has been suspended during most of the past three years. But as of Monday, the flights haven’t resumed, and no ticket booking information is available.

Box office /

China’s box office snaps five-week decline on big domestic openings

China’s box office takings snapped a five-week post-holiday streak of declines, bolstered by two new domestic titles, including a comedy about a cemetery plot salesman that had one of the nation’s biggest openings since the Spring Festival holiday.

For the week ending March 12, revenues totaled 383 million yuan ($55.7 million), an increase of 22.8% compared with the previous week, according to data from China Movie Database, which tracks box office performance. It was the first weekly increase in cinema takings since the end of January.

Quick hit /

China could produce a third of the world’s lithium by 2025

Tech Insider /

TikTok on thin ice, premier reassures private sector

Long Read /

What Li Yining taught China about economic reform