At a glance
- China’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission has issued a five-year national informatization plan that says the national blockchain network should be “basically completed” (translated) by 2030, according to a notice on the Cyberspace Administration of China’s website on Friday.
- The full plan calls for faster completion of a central backbone network and for linking up regional hubs, with uses in freight and shipping trade, tax, government services and the low-carbon transition.
The commission, a senior Communist Party body that coordinates digital policy, published the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Informatization (《国家信息化”十五五”规划》) at 18:00 Beijing time (10:00 UTC). The notice says it was issued “recently” (translated) and gives no exact date.
What the plan says
The 2030 blockchain goal sits in the same sentence as other infrastructure targets, including a commercial launch of 6G mobile networks “at the appropriate time” (translated).
Among its tasks, the plan tells officials to “implement the national blockchain network construction project and consolidate the foundation of the value internet” (translated). A box on infrastructure projects adds three steps: finish the central backbone faster, connect regional hubs, and improve shared services such as distributed digital identity.
The plan assigns blockchain work to four regions:
- Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei: blockchain for the “twin airport hubs” (translated) and smart logistics.
- Yangtze River Delta: deeper use in trade and finance.
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: faster rollout of new blockchain applications.
- Chengdu-Chongqing: large-scale use in commerce, manufacturing and agriculture.
It also calls for blockchain and privacy-preserving computation in data circulation and trading, for national technical standards for blockchain, and, in a separate line, to “steadily develop the digital renminbi” (translated), China’s central bank digital currency.
The plan gives no budget or figures for the blockchain network. All translations are CryptoWatchDesk’s own.
Context
The network is not new. It was included in China’s national development plan in March, and a joint policy from the party’s central leadership and the State Council on 9 Oct called for its construction, Cointelegraph reported. Friday’s plan sets 2030 as the date for it to be basically completed.
Mainland China bans crypto-related business, Cointelegraph noted, while promoting blockchain as a national technology priority. Nothing in the plan refers to cryptocurrencies or stablecoins.
Hong Kong, inside the Greater Bay Area named in the plan, runs its own licensing regime; this week it saw HSBC’s Hong Kong dollar stablecoin launch. Elsewhere in the region, central banks are working on cross-border digital money, as with Malaysia and Thailand joining Singapore’s BLOOM.
What’s next
Watch for implementation rules from the ministries and regional governments named in the plan, and for any public list of the regional hubs to be connected first.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.