Guizhou aims to become big data hub

Zhao Kezhi (second left), Party chief of Guizhou province, talks with Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, at a promotional event focusing on the province's big data industry in Beijing on Saturday. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

Industry could attract businesses to province, raise people's incomes

Southwest China's Guizhou province is eyeing big data industry to beef up its lagging economy, local officials said on Saturday.

They believe the cutting-edge technology would give a new driver to one of the least developed regions in the country.

"Big data industry is a big opportunity for us to add jobs, build new economic boosters and build a technology-strong Guizhou," said Chen Min'er, governor of Guizhou.

The province's cool climate, sufficient power supply and transportation networks are advantages to lure data centers and cloud computing projects, he said.

"We hope the data analytical business will help lift people's personal income in the coming years," Chen said.

Guizhou is one of the lowest-ranked provincial regions, both in terms of gross domestic product and GDP per capita.

The province's individual disposable income in urban areas stood at 18,700 yuan ($3,100) in 2012, well below the national average of 24,564 yuan, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The mountain-locked province has recently announced plans to connect all its counties with highway networks by the end of next year.

However, government officials from Guizhou said the province plans to build the country's "top tier" cloud computing hub by 2020.

"Guizhou has no history of developing big data industry, and the infrastructures are lagging behind eastern provinces," said Wu Hequan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.