China launches Blockchain initiative despite ban on cryptocurrency

New Delhi: China’s cyberspace administration has announced plans to launch an internal effort to boost blockchain advancement and innovation despite a blanket ban on cryptocurrency.

Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which oversees the country’s cyberspace security and internet content control, is planning to integrate blockchain in 15 regions and 164 organizations in the country.

China is eyeing to further boost the technological application and industrial development of blockchain over the next decade, according to a guideline released by industrial development and cyberspace affairs authorities, as cited by Xinhua news agency.

By 2025, the country aims to take the comprehensive strength of its blockchain industry to the most advanced level in the world, said a document jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission.

The document noted that China’s blockchain industry and its industrial standard system shall begin to take shape by 2025, with blockchain technology applied to multiple economic and social fields.

In the next five years, China shall support the establishment of three to five backbone enterprises with international competitiveness, as well as a number of innovation-driven enterprises and three to five blockchain industrial clusters.

By 2030, the blockchain industry shall see further expansion in both comprehensive strength and industrial scale, and deepen integration with next-generation information technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, the document added.

The HK Post said the Chinese government has a centralized blockchain technology structure means.

According to The HK Post, introducing blockchain-based channelling technology for exploring trade finance and cross-border finance would also result in an exchange of data. Additionally, it will also pay the way for embracing digital yuan transactions globally.