BEIJING - The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has unveiled a guideline on expediting the development of the industrial big data sector to promote the country's high-quality development.

A national industrial big data center will be established to gather data to support the monitoring and analysis of industries, so as to empower innovative corporate development and enhance industrial safety.

The guideline highlighted continued efforts to advance the development of the industrial Internet and realize the full connection of industrial equipment to enrich databases.

Industrial big data is an umbrella term referring to all the data generated during the whole life cycle of products and services in the industrial sector. Industrial enterprises create and utilize such data in their research and development, operation and management and maintenance.

China also seeks to achieve more breakthroughs in key generic technologies. Artificial intelligence, blockchain and edge computing will be further deployed and integrated, according to the guideline.

The market scale of China's industrial big data sector is expected to surpass 34.61 billion yuan ($4.88 billion) in 2022, up from 14.69 billion yuan in 2019, as the sector continues to promote the transformation and upgrading of China's traditional manufacturing industries, according to CCID Consulting, a firm affiliated with a think tank under the MIIT.