blockchain Photo: Unsplash

China's industry watchdog and cyberspace regulator jointly published a guideline on Monday to boost the country's development and application of blockchain technology. The document also announced a plan to make China's blockchain industry first in the world by 2025. 

The document was published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, in a move to fix cybersecurity issues, reform the structure of China's information technology industry, and enhance the fusion of blockchain technology and the country's economic system. 

"The document stated that China may develop the blockchain industry into an infrastructure category, and it will be applied in every specific phase of the social system," Chen Bo, director of the Digital Finance Research Center at the Central University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Monday.

The document said China will support the establishment of three to five backbone enterprises by 2025 and the industry scale will keep expanding in 2030. The industry will be deeply connected with the internet, big data and artificial intelligence sectors, and it will also become an essential means of support of the nation's governance capacity at that time. 

China's blockchain development will focus on the real economy and public services. The technology can also be used to enhance industrial bases and industry chains. In the final phase, blockchain technology will break the barriers between different sectors and boost their coordinated development, said the document.

MIIT said blockchain technology is relatively limited in China. Therefore, the document was published to boost economic development, given its features of low costs and a high degree of security. MIIT is also planning to use blockchain technology in governments' daily work and services. 

MIIT revealed that the document is intended to coordinate with China's development strategies amid a global economic race in the blockchain industry, and support blockchain's benefits in boosting economic development.  

"Some related standards and technologies of the blockchain industry can be set in advance and exported by China, if the country's blockchain sector can be developed into a world-leading position," said Chen. 

He also stated that blockchain technology is based on the digital credit system. "China's sophisticated blockchain industry can improve our competitiveness in the global economic race," said Chen.

Global Times