China targets 2030 for its national blockchain network buildout

China has set a 2030 target for largely completing a national blockchain network under a five-year digital development plan published Friday.

The 15th Five-Year Plan for National Informatization, which sets priorities calls for deeper blockchain use in trade and finance in the Yangtze River Delta, and deployment at scale in manufacturing and agriculture in the Chengdu–Chongqing region in southwestern China.

Friday’s plan was issued by the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, a senior body within the ruling Communist Party that coordinates digital development policy.

The document makes the completion target explicit for a project already included in China’s national development plan released in March. A joint policy from the Communist Party’s central leadership and State Council published on Oct. 9 called for its construction.

The new plan also calls for stronger blockchain technical standards and greater use of the technology in data circulation and trading.

Mainland China bans cryptocurrency-related business activities, but promotes blockchain technology as a national priority.

In October 2019, President Xi Jinping called for greater investment in blockchain and identified it as an important area for developing China’s own technological capabilities.

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