• The government has allowed all Chinese companies to register data as assets on their balance sheets.

• Adoption of the policy has been slow, with only a small percentage of companies logging data as assets.

• Compliance hurdles are high, but China’s experiment could potentially shape global accounting norms.

... In 2023 alone, China generated 32.85 zettabytes — more than 27% of the global total, according to a government survey. To put that in perspective, storing this volume on standard 1-terabyte hard drives would require more than 32 billion units.

The numbers are climbing. By 2025, global data generation is projected to hit 174 zettabytes, or 1 sextillion bytes, with China’s share expanding to 48.6 zettabytes — the fastest growth rate of any nation, according to a report from the International Data Corporation, a U.S.-based marketing intelligence firm. Read more...