China to form a national data bureau

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China will form a national data bureau that will be responsible for coordinating the sharing and development of the countrys data resources, according to a plan submitted on Tuesday to parliament.

The proposed bureau will be administrated by the state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the plan said.

Certain functions of the NDRC and the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, which oversees Chinas internet, will be transferred to the new bureau whose tasks will include promoting smart cities and the exchange of information resources across industries, it also said.

China has in recent years made several moves to strengthen its oversight over the vast troves of data collected in the country, including issuing a series of new laws that require organisations with large user bases undergo assessments and obtain approvals when handling data.

Chinese regulators recently eased some deadline pressure on multinational companies struggling to comply with new rules requiring them to seek approval to export user data.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Raju Gopalakrishnan)