观点聚焦 | 浙大AIF学术委员Herbert Poenisch:《Big data management in China》
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NEWS
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近日，浙江大学互联网金融研究院学术委员、国际清算银行（BIS）原高级经济学家 Herbert Poenisch 在牛津商业评论官方论坛( OBR )上发表时评《Big data management in China》。
本文主要分析了中国作为信息技术先进的大数据生产国，为巩固其在IT和大数据领域的全球领导地位，采取的以下几项措施：
1. 启动涵盖经济、政府、军事和情报领域的国家大数据战略，使用数据发展监视系统，以追踪的形式收集个人的身份，行为特征，活动轨迹等大数据，从而形成带有奖励和惩罚的社会信用评分系统；
2. 以大数据的捕获和管理为国家的共同利益，致力于创建一个共享的交换平台，以安全的方式跨区域进行访问，旨在创建大数据目录，并明确负责生成，存储和交换；
3. 运用大数据为公司收集有关个人行为数据与供应链数据以提高行业效率，在竞争激烈的国内市场脱颖而出；
4. 引入中央银行数字货币，eRMB将仅提供受控的匿名性并生成有关中国人口支出和储蓄习惯的综合数据。
以下为原文
Big data management in China
-Herbert Poenisch
Big data management in China and for governments around the world is a modern day topic that we can no longer disregard. The proliferation of technology, notably smart phones and similar devices, has created new opportunities and challenges which need to be addressed. Until recently, the following unintended consequences of creating big data has been managed in a patchwork fashion: data has been generated, collected and stored in private silos mostly by BigTech companies. Only gradually did it dawn on them that this data is precious, needed to be analysed, and could be sold for profit. The first managers of data were the BigTech companies who collected, processed and resold them. The next generation were data management companies.
Then governments came in at the behest of the general public, who were increasingly concerned about what happens with the data collected. Governments then started to impose rules on those opaque entities generating big data. These address the issues of ownership, user consent, privacy and anonymity, as well as the right to access ones’ own data. As each country handles these issues differently there is now a myriad of solutions to the problem. For example, the EU has managed to adopt common EU data rules where the ownership is anchored, and individuals are asked every time to give their consent to the use of data. Governments have also endeavoured to establish public data utilities, acknowledging the fact that although data is privately owned, they can become public goods in certain instances, such as contact tracing during the Covid-19 pandemic. The next level would be a universal international consensus and standard which would encompass footloose global BigTechs, such as social networks.
China is arguably the most prolific producer of big data thanks to its prowess in science and technology, notably, information technology. The Chinese Government, under the guidance of the Communist Party of China (CPC), would like to cement its global leadership in IT and big data through a series of measures that are outlined below.
The handling of big data in China has its own characteristics, based on traditions and values. As China is ready to point out, universal solutions are not suitable for its countrymen. China sees the community as far more important than the individual. Privacy and anonymity can be overruled for the sake of the common good. China launched a national big data strategy, encompassing the economy, government, military and intelligence. It uses the data to develop their surveillance system to near perfection. They are able to monitor the ‘who’ and ‘where’ in real time. The private BigTechs, such as Alibaba but also Baidu and Tiktok, through the types of businesses they provide have collected valuable data on what individuals do.
The juggernauts like Alibaba, Tencent and JD started in e-commerce, which offered valuable insights on customers’ preferences and habits. Following that they provided payments for e-commerce, and in the process collected precious data on peoples’ management of money. This allowed them to perform credit rating of individuals and micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) which were more accurate than the data collected on credit records by the big established banks. Based on these big data they developed AI for credit allocation. Soon they were able to compete with big banks in consumer and MSME loans with lower default rates at much lower costs. However, they attracted the attention of the financial regulators which were overwhelmed by the momentum generated by this technology and its multiple applications.
In mid 2020, just before the IPO of BigTech companies with their cross sector business model (based on big data they collected from close to 1 billion individuals), the regulators blew the whistle, citing national concerns over the collection and use of big data by BigTech companies. In its justification for halting the IPO, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission mentioned the following issues: clarity of ownership of big data, data privacy, sharing of data, protection of individual data, need to monitor cross border flows and finally the overall risk of cyber security.
It is ironic that these were flagged as concerns for the public as they are collected and used by private BigTech entities. The government already collects big data on everybody in China concerning identity, characteristics, movements in the form of tracing as part of the surveillance system which results in the Social Credit Score system with awards and punishment. All the above concerns by the regulators also apply to this big data collected.
China has embarked on a major exercise to capture big data and manage them in the national interest for the common good, where the individual’s role is subordinate to overriding national interest. Chapter 5 of the 14th Five Year Plan enshrines the digitalisation of all aspects of life in China, calling for creating a digital China, encompassing the economy, society, government etc. In section 17/paragraph 1, the role of big data is addressed. The emphasis is on creating a shared exchange platform to be accessed across silos, across different levels, and across regions in a secure manner. It aims to create a catalogue of big data, with defined responsibilities for generating, storing and exchanging.
Already in 2019 all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have been called upon to set up industrial big data centres to collect and share production data for a more efficient industry. There is a great interest among the participants of the value chain to obtain supply chain data to perform better in the highly competitive domestic market.
Among the big data collectors are the BigTech firms such as Alibaba, Baidu, TikTok, communications companies, China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile, as well as private data collectors such as technology platform GDS and data centre service provider, 21 Vianet.
The introduction of the central bank digital currency will add the central bank, the Peoples’ Bank of China, to the big data collectors. In its design the eRMB will only provide controlled anonymity. Once implemented, the eRMB will generate comprehensive data on the spending and savings habits of the Chinese population. Unlike now, when BigTechs are operating the payment system, data will become available to the government authorities in real time, complementing the data on ‘who’ and ‘where’ which they already collect.
While it is natural for the government to call for existing silos of data to be opened and shared with others, it is a one way street. The alternative, the government opening its big silo of data collected for sharing with other members of society, is highly unlikely. The foreseeable future will see the coexistence of government and private big data storage facilities with little convergence. As it stands, foreigners have little chance to join this game.
China is moving forward on big data in big strides. This will probably give China the edge over others as far as domestic issues are concerned. However, to capture global data China would have to supply the outside world with critical hardware and software. At present the awareness has been sharpened in the rest of the world and, sooner or later countries will have to choose between Chinese endeavours or Western systems of big data collectors.
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