Abstract: As China’s data factor market develops rapidly, standardizing data trading has become a central issue in building the national data market. To meet this need, governance arrangements aligned with China’s realities and stage of development are required. This paper regards the entire lifecycle of data transactions as the governance object, dividing it into three stages based on transaction practices: early stage (acquisition and access), mid-stage (processing and delivery), and late stage (usage and exit). Correspondingly, a three-stage proof structure of “entry certification-process certification-outcome certification” is proposed. At the same time, the “technology-institution co-evolution theory” is used to construct a two-level nested governance practice path. At the macro level, meta-rules integrate governance policies, supported by minimum mandatory national standards and continuous calibration through indicator-based supervision. At the micro level, governance measures are specified for the transaction lifecycle: the early stage generates verifiable entry documentation, the middle stage accumulates auditable evidence of performance, and the later stage completes a closed loop of purpose control and exit verification. This paper aims to provide an executable, verifiable, and accountable characteristic governance scheme for China’s data transaction market.

Key words: China Data Market; Data Transactions; Full Lifecycle; Chinese Characteristics; Governance Scheme