This article was translated by Dev Lewis and Jordan Schneider as part of the China India Networked (CIN) and China EconTalk newsletters.

The China India Networked (CIN) Newsletter is by me, Dev Lewis. I'm a Fellow at Digital Asia Hub and Yenching Scholar at Peking University, where i'm conducting research on the Social Credit System and data governance.

I’m Jordan Schneider, Beijing-based host of the ChinaEconTalk Podcast. In this newsletter I translate articles from Chinese media about tech, business, and political economy.

<aside> 🗝 An analyses of open government data and credit service platforms in China Author: Xiao Diyu [肖荻昱] Original Publisher: Journal of Library and Information Science (2019 Volume 7) [图书情报导刊] Source: Yuandian Credit https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xugzyprTafQYRaoP8Ve9bQ

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Accelerating the opening of government data is a priority at all levels of government in China, and is a hot topic at the forefront of e-governance and information management.

The government is the primary data-holder of society and therefore government data it is an indispensable part of so called 'big data'. While also strengthening legal data protection and privacy regimes, opening up government data for social use is an important prerequisite for realizing any big data strategy. ****The government holds more than 90% of the data resources of the entire society (in China), and among the various types of government data, the opening of government credit information has always been one of the focuses of the public.

Government credit information is usually defined as: information such as administrative licenses, penalties, and awards that are generated and recorded by the administrative agency.

This kind of information and data is a valuable public resources with attributes of a public good, and should not be monopolised by the government. The government should strengthen the openness and exchange of government credit information, enable the effective allocation of valuable credit information resources, promote sharing of credit information with the rest of society, lower the cost of data transfers, as well as promote the development of the credit information industry towards the enhancement of public interest.

In June 2014 the the State Council issued Outline for the Construction of Social Credit System (2014-2020) outlined: "all regions shall record, improve and integrate credit information generated in the process of performing public management functions by various departments and units in the region, and form a unified credit information sharing platform that facilitates the inquiry of government credit information for enterprises, individuals and social credit agencies."

In August 2015, The Outline for the Promotion of Big Data Development, issued by the State Council, clearly stated: "A unified open platform for national government data will be completed by the end of 2018, which will open up public data resources in important area such as credit, transportation, and medical care, and to open up to the public in a reasonable and appropriate manner. Accelerate the interconnection and information sharing of credit information systems in various regions, departments, relevant enterprises, institutions, and social organizations, and enrich the public. Credit information services, improve government service and regulatory levels."

In recent years, various local governments in China have actively explored numerous ways of opening government credit information. Among them one of the most popular methods is the provision of government credit information through the "credit service column" set up in the government open data platform.