HANGZHOU -- Legislators in East China's Zhejiang province have reviewed and passed a regulation to promote the digital economy in the province, according to local authorities.

The regulation, which takes effect on March 1, 2021, makes Zhejiang the first provincial-level region in China to legislate for digital economy development.

The regulation will balance the relationship between the government and the market, and will highlight the role of the market.

It requires governments and relevant departments at or above the county level to establish and improve a guarantee system for network and data security; strengthen the supervision and management of the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, and disclosure of personal data; and investigate and penalize illegal activities that endanger the safety of personal data, such as data leakages.

"The regulation motivates government agencies and relevant departments across the province to link and coordinate. This system innovation takes the lead in the country," said Fang Xingdong, president of the institute of internet and society under the Communication University of Zhejiang.

The digital economy is a major engine of economic growth in Zhejiang. The added value of the digital economy's core industries hit 622.9 billion yuan ($95.49 billion) in 2019, an increase of 14.5 percent over the previous year, according to the provincial statistics bureau.