The State Council issued a circular approving plan to integrate and share government information as part of government function reform, to better serve people and business entities.

The plan will set up a nationwide platform to integrate government information resources that can be shared among all-level governments, enterprises and citizens.

According to the circular, the integrated information system among State Council departments should be connected with the national data sharing and exchange platform before June 2018, an initial step in information sharing between central and local governments.

The plan urged weeding out inactive, or zombie, governmental information systems through inspections and audits, and integrating dispersed systems into the internal and external national e-government networks.

The national e-government networks need improvement, stated the plan, which decided to promote related infrastructure, develop the second-stage external governmental network, and expand network coverage.

The plan stressed efforts to integrate government information into the national platform, which should provide access to basic information on citizens, social organizations, enterprises and public institutions by September.

The website, www.data.gov.cn, will be under construction and open to the public, and the website data.cegn.cn, set to open before July, will act as a portal for the platform.

The information shared on the portal will include basic data on credit systems, public resource transactions, investments, prices, citizens, business organizations, energy, geography, transportation and tourism, according to the circular.

The plan also asked for efforts to compile a catalogue of government information resources, and launch a national survey on data resources from government information systems.

In addition, efforts should be made to develop a unified standard for information sharing, and to integrate government affairs service centers online by the end of this year.

The government will also launch pilot projects on Internet Plus government affairs services, and start one-stop service in 80 pilot cities, the circular said.

The circular also stressed supervision and auditing to promote implementation of the plan, encouraged high technologies, and highlighted protection of individual privacy.