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China technology
ChinaPolitics

China Unicom boss Liu Liehong tipped to be named head of new data bureau

  • Bureau was unveiled in a reshuffle in March and is expected to be a key tool to develop the digital economy
  • Liu has worked in electronics and information technology for decades and will be its first director, sources say

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Liu Liehong, 54, is said to be taking the helm of the new National Data Bureau. Photo: Weibo
SCMP Reporters
Beijing is expected to name the chief of state-owned telecoms firm China Unicom as head of its new National Data Bureau, according to people familiar with the situation.
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They said Liu Liehong, 54, would be the first director of the bureau overseeing data security and digitalisation, which analysts expect will be a key tool for Beijing to develop the digital economy.

The decision was said to have been made last week, with arrangements to staff the new government body under way.

The new bureau – unveiled in March as part of a restructure of party and state institutions – is managed by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner.
It was one of a handful of new bodies established in the reshuffle that has given the ruling Communist Party more direct control over the country’s tech drive, financial regulation, and policies on Hong Kong and Macau.
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President Xi Jinping has said all of the newly created bodies are to be set up this year with local branches established by the end of 2024, according to a February speech published in party journal Qiushi on Saturday.

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