China has set a 2030 target for completing a national blockchain network as part of its 15th National Informatization Five-Year Plan, according to the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the party body responsible for cybersecurity and informatization policy.
The plan places blockchain within a set of priority technologies that Chinese authorities intend to cultivate as a new industry ecosystem, alongside integrated circuits, display technology, artificial intelligence and 6G mobile communications.
Infrastructure goals for 2030
Under the roadmap, today's information structures are expected to progress by 2030 through the creation of a three-dimensional network system, the commercialization of sixth-generation mobile communications and the completion of the national blockchain network, with an accelerated layout for the smart internet.
The strategy also calls for stronger legal support for blockchain technology, including the development of national standards and efforts to extend those standards internationally.
Standards and industrial integration
The plan follows a broader push to build a national blockchain network that integrates China's real and digital economies, framed as part of promoting the deep integration of scientific, technological and industrial innovation.
While Chinese authorities remain opposed to cryptocurrency, the People's Bank of China has pointed to the relevance of blockchain technologies in achieving one-stop online processing of cross-border electronic tax payment business.
Earlier pilot programs
The latest roadmap builds on a 2022 initial rollout of 15 pilot zones and 164 entities for blockchain projects. Those projects were intended to target manufacturing, energy, government and tax services, law, education, health, trade and finance, and cross-border finance.
If completed, the national blockchain backbone would make China an early mover in organizing information processes around a nationwide decentralized structure, potentially covering areas such as smart finance, property rights and identity registries.
