GUIYANG: China’s data industry hit 6.78 trillion yuan (about 1 trillion U.S. dollars) last year. Now, as the 2026 China International Big Data Industry Expo gets underway, one question emerges: how does data become the “new oil” of the AI era?
“Wherever AI advances, we push forward the construction and application of high-quality datasets,” Liu Liehong, head of China’s National Data Administration, told the expo’s opening ceremony in Guiyang, capital of southwest China’s Guizhou Province.
Yang Jie, secretary-general of the World Data Organization, added that the richness, purity, authenticity and professionalism of data directly determine the cognitive depth, knowledge accuracy, and capabilities of large models. Themed “Token: A New Path to Value of Data Elements,” the expo was held from Friday through Sunday and has attracted 372 domestic and international companies and over 16,000 registered guests. It showcased new technologies, products, and applications in areas including the token economy, computing power, large model innovation, and data element circulation.
Riding the wave of digital industry growth, traditional industries are receiving a fresh boost from data and artificial intelligence, a transformation on full display at the expo. In the host province, hydropower stations, wind farms and solar plants along the Wujiang River are now connected through a unified digital system — a vivid example of how data technology is transforming conventional industries.
“We’re bringing together hydropower, wind and solar into one smart dispatch platform,” said Fan Sheng, deputy general manager of Guizhou Wujiang Hydropower Development Co., Ltd., at the expo.
According to Fan, a long-standing challenge for the power industry is that changing wind, cloud and rain conditions cause large swings in renewable energy generation. –
Accurately forecasting these fluctuations and coordinating a mix of power sources has become essential for maintaining grid stability and making the most of clean energy. Agencies
