China issues guidelines on high-quality development of data annotation industry

The Chinese government on Monday issued a set of guidelines to drive high-quality development of the data annotation industry -- the first national-level strategic directives for the emerging sector that is crucial for successful AI applications.

Data annotation, namely categorizing and labeling various data types including text, audio, images, and video, is a foundational process that enables AI systems to deliver accurate and reliable results, powering many advanced fields such as autonomous driving, low-altitude economy, smart manufacturing, and intelligent healthcare.

The guidelines, jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission, National Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, set key development goals for the industry by 2027. That include significant advancements in specialization, automation, and technological innovation and a compound annual growth rate of over 20 percent in industrial scale. It also highlights the critical role of data annotation in underpinning innovative development of AI.

As technology evolves, there's a growing demand for professionals with specialized knowledge in sectors such as finance, transportation, energy, and healthcare, said Meng Qinguo, executive director of the Laboratory of Computational Social Science and State Governance under Tsinghua University.

"The shortage of high-quality data has become a bottleneck in developing some large AI models in China. Data annotation involves processes like screening, cleaning and classifying data to produce high-quality datasets that can let machines read fast and learn fast. As the sector becomes increasingly automated and intelligent and more segments emerge, it is also shifting from a labor-intensive to a knowledge-intensive industry," Meng said.

Efforts will be made to build distinctive and effective data annotation hubs to form a comprehensive ecosystem for the industry. Pilot projects will be implemented in seven cities, including Chengdu, Shenyang, Hefei, and Changsha.

The guidelines underscore demand- and innovation-driven development with 13 specific measures.

For the first time, it encourages the utilization of public data for annotation, advocating for its development and use in key areas such as modern agriculture, smart manufacturing, and information services in accordance with the law and regulations.

"The Central Economic Work Conference has proposed launching an AI Plus initiative, with many localities accelerating the deployment of government AI models. These models will see more applications in areas important to people's lives, such as transportation, meteorology, and healthcare, promoting an increasing demand for public data-based annotation. The efforts to unlock the value of public data have focused on ensuring effective annotation of massive amounts of public data," said Meng.

To boost innovation, the guidelines call for improved data annotation standards and support for the development of original technologies and equipment that integrate hardware and software solutions.

The document also outlines supportive measures to boost the industry, including greater fiscal, tax, and financial support, adding data annotation services to the government procurement list, and training more professionals.

China issues guidelines on high-quality development of data annotation industry

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's political stunts both at home and abroad cannot whitewash Japan's World War II (WWII) aggression, but instead expose the schemes of the country's far-right forces to incite bloc confrontation and promote remilitarization, says a China Media Group commentary published on Sunday.

An edited English version of the commentary is as follows:

In recent days, Takaichi has faced fierce criticism both domestically and internationally.

Her political stunt of kneeling in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier to lay flowers at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra during her visit to Australia further exposed her multiple political calculations to the international community.

Choosing to kneel in front of a tomb in Australia, Takaichi was not regretting for Japan's aggression and atrocities during World War II.

This act not only reveals the distorted world outlook of Japanese politicians, but also exposes their attempts to mislead public opinion, whitewash the crimes of WWII aggression, instigate bloc confrontation, and push for military buildup.

From "fawning diplomacy" during her U.S. visit in March to the recent kneeling show during her visit to Australia in May, Takaichi has been trying to cultivate a friendly image towards the West.

Geopolitically speaking, Japan's far-right forces are trying to expand their military and breach from the restraints of the pacifist constitution by exaggerating external threats. To this end, they are making every effort to exploit geopolitical conflicts and draw neighboring countries, especially Western countries, into bloc confrontation.

Since the end of WWII, Japanese leaders have never apologized to the people of victim countries such as China, the Republic of Korea, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Many Japanese politicians have even tried every means to justify the war crimes.

In particular, Takaichi has questioned the 1995 Murayama Statement, denied the Nanjing Massacre, visited the notorious Yasukuni Shrine annually for many consecutive years, and revived military rank titles during WWII, such as "taisa."

On the issue of Japan's history of aggression, Takaichi's insidious move cannot deceive the world.

Takaichi's political stunts both at home and abroad are a provocation against WWII victim countries in Asia and other regions.

This cannot conceal Japan's remilitarization attempt or the reality that " neo-militarism" is spreading and becoming a threat.

All countries that have suffered from Japanese militarist aggression should remain highly vigilant and united, and work together to safeguard the outcomes of WWII victory, so that historical tragedies never repeat themselves.

Takaichi's political stunts cannot whitewash Japan's history of aggression, remilitarization attempt: commentary