Press Conference on "RUC Index" Q1 2026 Held: Private Economy and Data Elements Show Positive Development Momentum
It was learned from Renmin University of China that the press conference on the "RUC Index" for the first quarter of 2026 was recently held in Beijing. At the conference, two research reports—the Data Element Marketization Promotion Index and the China Private Economy High-Quality Development Index—were officially released. The reports systematically present the current development status of China's data element market and private economy, provide scientific empirical support and decision-making reference for the high-quality development of related fields, and demonstrate the resilience and vitality of China's economic development.
Economic Reference News reported that the two indexes released this time accurately respond to two major national important deployments: the development and expansion of the private economy and the construction of data basic systems. Compiled meticulously by the research team of Renmin University of China, they integrate multi-dimensional data and opinions from experts in various fields to comprehensively depict the development trend of related fields. At present, the "RUC Index" has formed a stable release mechanism. Since the launch of the series release on January 17, 2025, it has held 10 monthly press conferences and 1 quarterly press conference in a row, building an index system covering multiple fields such as economy and finance, and becoming an important reference for reflecting the dynamics of China's economic development.
The China Private Economy High-Quality Development Index report shows that China's private economy has generally maintained a steady upward trend over the past 10 years and has become a key force in advancing Chinese modernization. China National Radio reported that the index was constructed by the research team based on long-term panel data at the city level from 2010 to 2023, focusing on three core dimensions: "development foundation—factor support—innovation and transformation", and clearly depicts the overall evolution trend, in-depth structural characteristics and regional dynamic differences of the national private economy development. The report also points out that the problem of unbalanced development of the private economy between regions still exists, and the index provides strong support for promoting the healthy and high-quality development of the private economy by accurately identifying the development potential of the private economy in different cities.
At present, China is continuously optimizing the development environment for the private economy and building an institutional barrier for its development. China Economic Net reported that various regions have intensively introduced measures: Zhejiang refined the implementation rules of the Private Economy Promotion Law, Guangdong implemented a list of "minor non-punishment" for enterprises, and Jiangsu built a cloud platform for legal services for private enterprises, comprehensively solving the blocking points and difficulties in the development of the private economy, enhancing enterprise confidence, which echoes the steady upward trend of the private economy reflected by the "RUC Index".
The Data Element Marketization Promotion Index report shows that the institutional framework and development direction of China's data element market are gradually becoming clear, with continuous enrichment of innovative scenarios and landing achievements, and the enabling role of data elements in economic development is increasingly prominent. The index is a characteristic research brand launched by the School of Information Resources Management of Renmin University of China in 2023. The index released this year fully integrates the opinions of experts from government, industry, university and research circles, constructing an evaluation system including three dimensions: basic environment, guarantee support and implementation promotion. The research team conducted research and evaluation on the data element marketization promotion capacity of 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) across the country, providing reference for policy improvement and practical innovation.
The top 10 provinces in terms of data element marketization promotion capacity in 2025 are Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shandong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Hubei, Guizhou and Anhui. These 10 provinces have played a leading and exemplary role in promoting data element marketization. By improving data basic systems and expanding data application scenarios, they have promoted the efficient allocation of data elements and provided reference practical experience for the development of the national data element market.
In the future, the "RUC Index" will continue to optimize the index system, further improve the scientificity and timeliness of data, and continuously release more index results reflecting China's economic and social development, providing more powerful decision-making reference for the modernization of national governance. For the development of the private economy, relevant departments will continue to focus on the problem of unbalanced regional development, improve the policy support system, optimize the business environment, and promote the higher-quality development of the private economy.
In the field of data element marketization, China will further improve the basic system of data elements, learn from the experience of leading provinces such as Guangdong and Beijing, promote the expansion of innovative scenarios of data elements, strengthen data security guarantees, promote the in-depth integration of data elements with the real economy, fully release the value of data elements, and inject new momentum into China's high-quality economic development.
