Big Data Becomes Inexhaustible Impetus for High-quality Development of Guizhou

Located in southwestern China, Guizhou used to be a remote and impoverished province with fewer opportunities to access to cutting-edge technology. But, it is known for its good ecological environment and the wealth of ethnic resources. Today, Guizhou is gradually growing into a high-tech center in China.

Han Shaobo, Deputy Director of the Big Data Development Administration of Guizhou Province, said that the booming big data industry has become a key growth driver for high-quality development of Guizhou.

"After years of development, Guizhou has now been a new big data hub attracting a group of leading Chinese and international technology companies. We will continue to strengthen support for big data companies and talent introduction, with a focus on turning the big data industry into a new pillar industry that shows sign of high-quality development," said Han Shaobo at a press conference held in June.

The data shows that in 2018, the added value of the digital economy in Guizhou increased by 24.6%, with the growth rate ranking first in the country for four years in a row. The contribution of big data to Guizhou's economic growth reached more than 20%.

Since 2014, the added value of the electronic information manufacturing enterprises above designated size and the revenue in software business have increased by 35.31% and 30.56% respectively, among which the proportion of the electronic information segment in the industry has rose from 0.3% in 2013 to 1.9%.

With the support of national policies, the fast-growing Guizhou has pulled in thousands of leading technology and Internet companies to seek new development momentums in this market, including Apple, Microsoft, Dell, Intel, Huawei, Tencent and Alibaba.

Han Shaobo said that the government will further advance the deep integration of big data and the real economy for the benefit of government services, business and civilian use.

"The fusion of big data and the real economy have become a powerful engine to propel transformation and upgrading and improve quality and efficiency. In 2018, the development level index of Guizhou in this aspect came to 36.9, or 3.1 higher than that in 2017, marking that Guizhou is accelerating its move from the initial stage of integration towards the intermediate stage," Han added.

According to Han, 10,000+ real economy enterprises in Guizhou will be promoted to integrate with big data by 2022.

The switch of Guizhou from one of the poorest areas and an underdeveloped province in the country to a leading technology hub would not have been possible without the local government's effort in different spheres, which has led to remarkable results.

The province has achieved new improvements in the integration of big data and the industry, as exemplified by 33.9% of industrial enterprises that have integrated big data into key business areas such as R&D, production, sales and management across the board. Big data is pushing the service industry to upgrade to a platform-enabled, smart and shared one - 54% of service companies have leveraged data to make decisions in cost and profit analysis.

In Guizhou, digital technology is more than used in business, but even can be commonly found in government and people's livelihood services. For example, with the establishment of mobile e-government platform, citizens in Guiyang can now travel by plane using an electronic ID card in place of a physical one. At present, 83.10% of the provincial government service projects are available online, a figure that will reach 100% within the year.

In recent years, Guizhou has been taking positive actions to absorb domestic and foreign big data technologies and knowledge, and welcome the wave of the booming big data. Consequently, there have been a number of high-tech enterprises leading the pack in China.

Guiyang-based Full Truck Alliance Group is one of the top unicorn companies in China's logistics industry. With digital technology, Full Truck Alliance Group helps address the basic contradiction in traditional road logistics that there was a mismatching between the owners of cargo and the drivers in terms of supply and demand.

In 2017, Jiangsu Manyun Software Technology Co., Ltd. (Yunmanman) and Guiyang Truck Alliance Technology Co., Ltd. (Truck Alliance) announced the strategic merger to establish Manbang Group. Last April, Manbang Group received a $1.9 billion financing led by China Reform Fund, with a valuation of more than $6.5 billion.

Xu Qiang, Vice President of Manbang Group said that the company will open its smart logistics platform to foreign freight users, and expand the scope of services to provide world-class services for drivers and logistics companies.

It has been said that there are 6.5 million and 1.6 million Full Truck Alliance Group certified driver users and owners of cargo. The group operates in 339 major cities nationwide.