China's data industry tops $1 trillion in 2025

(ECNS) -- China's data industry reached 6.78 trillion yuan (approximately $1 trillion) in 2025, up 15.7% year on year, according to a report released Friday at the 2026 China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province.

The "China Data Industry Development Report (2026)" revealed that the number of data enterprises nationwide hit 482,000 by the end of 2025, an increase of 17.9% compared with the previous year.

Financing activities remained robust in sectors such as large language models, synthetic simulation data, and embodied intelligent data services.

Wang Wei, director of the Data Resources Department at the National Institute of Data Development, noted that data products and services closely related to artificial intelligence now account for over 70% of the total output value of the data industry, becoming the main driver of its growth.

"This indicates that the data industry and artificial intelligence are mutually reinforcing and empowering each other, with digital-intelligence integration emerging as a new trend in industrial development," Wang said.

The expo, running Aug. 26–29, has drawn thousands of participants from government, business and academia to discuss advances in big data and the digital economy.

(By Helen Mo)