Even more public data to be open

State Council leaders want to ease access for people and businesses

China will further integrate government information systems and enable more information to be disclosed on how public resources are distributed, according to a decision made at the State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.

The government will work to consolidate and integrate the national data sharing and exchange platform to enable connectivity across networks, data and administrative services, those at the meeting decided. This move is part of the government's effort to streamline administration, enhance compliance oversight and provide better and faster administrative services to the public.

Chinese leaders have stressed on multiple occasions the importance of integration, sharing and disclosure in the running of government information systems.

President Xi Jinping said that the integration of information resources should be pushed forward to break information silos and develop a national information resources sharing system.

Li said that the integration and sharing of government information systems should be accelerated to deliver better administrative services.

Meeting participants decided the contents and modality of data sharing across State Council departments will be clearly defined to ensure public access to information that can be released.

The 40 vertical information systems run by State Council bodies will be made open to governments at various levels by the end of this year, which will enable the sharing of service information on some 500 data items, from identity verification to tax payment certificates, real estate registration and academic degrees.

The security of information sharing also will be a priority. In the establishment of any new government information system, sharing will be a guiding principle to prevent duplication and new information silos.

"We should use the integration of government information systems to achieve connectivity of data and government services, and break the barriers to our reform to streamline administration, enhance compliance oversight and provide better services," the premier said.

A new guideline, which specifies a set of requirements for government information disclosure on the allocation of public resources, also was approved at the meeting.

The guideline, issued as part of the plan by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council to push forward government information disclosure comprehensively, has identified a number of key areas for information disclosure, including housing, transfer of State-owned land-use rights and transfer of mining rights.