China plans to accelerate blockchain development and adoption in push to become a world leader in the technology by 2025
- In a new document, China’s internet governance agencies highlighted the country’s effort to establish an ‘advanced blockchain industrial system’
- Despite cracking down on cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, China wants to be a global blockchain leader in other applications such as intellectual property
China’s government is doubling down on its embrace of distributed databases with the establishment of an “advanced blockchain industrial system”, as the country looks to incorporate the technology into its economic and development plans.
“[The] recent guidance confirms policymakers’ long-standing commitment to blockchain technology as a key strategic technology,” said Matthew Graham, CEO of Sino Global Capital.
The document emphasises the necessity of cultivating national champions that can compete globally, as well as the importance of blockchain to the real economy – including supply chain management, product traceability and data sharing – and public services like identity documentation, property registration, and education and health care data management.
Globally, the blockchain industry is dealing with a commercialisation bottleneck as some applications, like traceability and proof of copyright ownership, “are not as profitable as expected”, said Gao Chengshi, a cryptography expert and founding partner of blockchain developer Shanghai Hashvalue Information Technology. But the industry is still “at a very early stage”, he added.
