The big data industry was worth 76.7 billion yuan in 2014, the market is expected to surpass 800 billion yuan in 2020. Another report says big data may contribute a trillion yuan to GDP volume in another decade.

The development of the technology has prompted the trade of big data. Many trading platforms have been established in China, most notably the Guiyang Big Data Exchange in 2014. The exchange's transaction volume hit 61 million yuan in 2015, with such members as China Unicom, Tencent, Huawei and JD.com participating.

China's central government is putting more support behind big data. The State Council published a paper last September that said by 2018, the government would open its platform to the public on data like transport, healthcare, employment and social security.