China Eyes Better Environment for Blockchain Innovations

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said the government wants to create a better environment for the blockchain industry to promote the healthy development of the nascent technology.

The country’s state-run news service Xinhua said the ministry is aware of the vast range of blockchain applications in the areas of credit reporting, finance, supply chain management, and smart manufacturing.

“The blockchain is a digital ledger system that uses sophisticated cryptographic techniques to create a permanent, unchangeable, and transparent record of exchanges to trace each transaction. The ministry will speed up pushing innovative applications of blockchain technology, with a focus on enhancing computing power and storage capacity.”, the agency said.

It cited an earlier report by the MIIT which showed that at least 456 blockchain technology companies operated in the country at the end of March 2018 as the industry’s own ecosystem is starting to take shape.

The ministry wants to collaborate with local authorities to allow for the orderly and healthy development of blockchain, which in addition to its benefits poses challenges to existing systems and norms, the report added. Last week, the MIIT announced it was holding an internal discussion about measures to stimulate more companies to get on the blockchain bandwagon.

In a separate report, the Chinese Communist Party’s official news outlet, People’s Daily said the government wants to raise the blockchain awareness of party members by publishing a book titled Blockchain – A Guide for Officials. The book provides information on the origin of the blockchain, including its features. It also gives the readers guidelines on how to use the technology with its current and future applications, including the challenges the technology brings to the regulatory and financial sectors.

"The biggest impact of blockchain lies in its operation mechanism ... which seeks to achieve consensus as a way to govern a community. It offers us a brand new angle to think about and resolve different problems." Ye Zhenzhen, head of People's Daily, wrote in the book.