CNRDS, China's research data platform, sells 17 data series to universities and offers agents no way in
The Chinese counterpart to WRDS covers AI patents, ESG and annual report text. Access needs a school subscription, proof of affiliation and a signed agreement.
CNRDS is the Chinese Research Data Services Platform (中国研究数据服务平台). Its site carries the copyright of Shanghai Jinghe Information Technology (上海经禾信息技术有限公司), which describes itself as a financial big data company whose products are developed under well-known professors. The Chinese sources are translated here, and the translations are ours.
| From the public pages | |
|---|---|
| Coverage | “Economics, finance, business, news, taxation, culture, environment, and energy,” in the CEIBS Library’s words |
| Recent series | AI patents of listed companies, ESG ratings since 2007, digital transformation measured from annual report text, patent transfers, fintech by region, and “new quality productivity” |
| Who can register | Members of a school that has bought access |
| Registration | Personal details, proof of affiliation such as a student card, and a signed data use agreement |
| First login | A mobile number has to be bound to the account, per Wenzhou-Kean University Library |
| Terms | Academic research only, no transfer or resale to third parties, and the source must be cited |
Wenzhou-Kean University subscribed in January 2026 and describes the platform as “a high-quality, open, and integrated data platform for economic, finance, and business research in China.”
The operator’s site says it holds news, analyst reports, stock forum posts, annual reports, announcements and legal documents, and that its advisers include people from big data and artificial intelligence. None of the pages read describes an API, a Python client, a connector for an AI assistant or a rule on AI use. A hosted AI model is a third party, so the clause on third parties is the one to ask the vendor about before any row goes near one.
For Chinese market data without a subscription, the open source page lists AKShare, a free Python library.
Sources
- CNRDS cnrds.com
- CEIBS Library, on new CNRDS data series ceibs.libguides.com
- Wenzhou-Kean University Library, subscription notice library.wku.edu.cn
- Shanghai Jinghe Information Technology efindata.com