The Global Data Ecosystem Conference 2026
The main forum of the Global Data Ecosystem Conference 2026 was held in Shanghai today, with industry experts and business leaders discussing international digital collaboration and the integration of data and artificial intelligence.
Under the theme of "Data Intelligence Connecting the World," the conference also unveiled new initiatives, and discussed efforts to boost the practical use of data technologies across various industries.
During the opening ceremony, the China Meteorological Administration introduced two key initiatives: The Shanghai Node for International Exchange of Earth System Data and Trusted Data Space for the Meteorological Industry. These achievements are expected to empower smart city development and support the high-quality growth of the digital economy.
In addition, the Working Group for the World Data Organization Maritime and Trade Digitization Specialized Committee was officially established. Building on Shanghai's strengths in shipping and trade, the group is expected to support the smart upgrading of port and trade operations.
Song Xianrong, director of the International Data Governance Cooperation Department of the National Data Administration, and Wu Jianxiong, chairman of Shanghai Data Group, attended the launch ceremony.
The conference also officially launched the China-Kazakhstan Industrial Cooperation in Digital Economy initiative through which the two countries will collaborate in areas including digital economy industry research, co-development of cross-border digital infrastructure, smart city construction, and the development of data factor markets.
Moreover, the conference held an awards ceremony for the Shanghai regional leg of the 2026 Data Elements ? Competition (a national contest aimed at unlocking the multiplier effect of data as a production factor). The event in Shanghai covered 20 major categories, including meteorological services, manufacturing, financial services, green and low-carbon development, and healthcare, with 143 teams receiving awards. The winning projects will be supported in moving from the competition stage into real-world industrial applications.
The Token Industry Ecosystem Synergy Initiative was also unveiled by the National Data Development Research Institute, a research institute directly under China's National Data Administration, and several leading companies across the industry chain. The initiative aims to advance the development of standards, evaluation, and practical application scenarios for the "token" sector, while forging new pathways for measuring, pricing, and circulating data - with the AI token as the unit of account - in the era of large AI models.
Experts Discuss Emerging Industry Trends
At the main forum, Sun Shengli, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a speech on specialized data center architecture and sustainable ecology as well as the underlying support path for scientific data mining and utilization.
A representative from Kazakhstan shared the country's experience in developing the digital economy, opening up new perspectives for digital cooperation with China. Joe Weinman, founder of the International Institute for Future Industries and a pioneer in AI economics, analyzed industry transformation driven by data.
Vincenzo Aquaro, Chief of Digital Government Branch in UN DESA's Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government, focused on the era of AI agents and shared cutting-edge research on the global development of digital government.
Wu Jianxiong, chairman of Shanghai Data Group, said the firm will build an open, shared and mutually beneficial platform for communication, engage deeply in the reform of data as a factor of production, and work alongside industry partners to foster the coordinated development of data resources.
Technological and Industrial Innovations Unveiled
During the forum, a carbon footprint certification chain for recyclable materials was launched. By leveraging data capabilities, this system enables end-to-end traceability and management of recyclable materials, empowering the circular economy to scale up and standardize.
UniTrust, a trusted governance platform for AI agents developed by the Shanghai Electronic Certificate Authority Center, was also unveiled. The platform is intended to establish a foundational layer of digital trust to ensure the secure and reliable circulation of data factors.
In addition, the first batch of high-quality datasets from AIsaisi, a one-stop open community for AI-driven scientific research, was released, providing data resources to support cutting-edge scientific research and innovation.
The National Data Development Research Institute, Shanghai Data Group, and Shanghai Data Research Institute also jointly released a series of research findings on the integrated development of blockchain, data, and AI.
