The United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda, the successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), calls for the effective means of implementation, especially a data revolution to inform decisionmaking, monitor implementation and promote governmental accountability. Although the developed world or the economic North attaches great importance to the data revolution, most of the developing world or the economic South is unaware of it, with Africa as an exception. Current debates focus exclusively on technical rationality, ignoring the huge political risks of data revolution, intentionally or unintentionally. The Data revolution is not only about the transformation of data collection and the analysis, dissemination and use of the data; it also has significant political implications for government accountability, global data partnerships, the data division of labour between the North and the South, and even standards of civilization in the international community. For a reasonable and balanced data revolution, the international community should balance technical rationality and political risks, universal and divergent focuses, and common but differentiated responsibilities, and build a global partnership for development data. As a rising great power, China could play a bridging role between the North and the South, promoting a reasonable and sustainable data revolution through global partnership building and political risk management, and facilitating the implementation and monitoring of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.