context: Blockchain was highlighted in the 14th 5-year plan as one of the emerging digital industries alongside industrial internet and big data. It attracted nationwide attention following Xi Jinping's personal endorsement in late October, and since then it received the usual industry policy treatment: local governments scrambled to devise action plans and fight the pandemic with the technology, a national platform was set up, and industry groups are setting industry standards. The new Guiding Opinions highlight sectors that Beijing considers as high potential, with finance notably missing from the list. Blockchain-based cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are getting the opposite treatment.
Blockchain application and industry development receive a shot of confidence from MIIT (Ministry of Industry and IT) and CAC (Cyberspace Administration), who issued a set of guiding opinions on the matter on 7 June. By 2025, Beijing hopes to see
- notable applications in product traceability (e.g. medicine), data flow and supply chain management
- from three to five internationally competitive firms
- from three to five blockchain industry clusters
- supporting standards, talent and ecosystem
Blockchain should support China's aspirations in manufacturing, cyberspace, digitisation and governance modernisation, note the agencies, and policy actions aim to
- foster internationally competitive products and enterprises that serve
- the real economy, with industry digitisation and supply chain solutions
- public services, such as digital ID, healthcare services, digital certification and smart city
- address the dearth of core technologies, mature applications, supporting ecosystem, talent and cybersecurity measures
- target clear, demand-driven areas of blockchain applications, which should be integrated with other ICT technologies like industrial internet, big data, cloud computing and AI
- foster a high value-added, resilient, open-source industry chain that consists of world-class products, enterprises and industrial parks
MIIT and CAC are now working on a detailed implementation timeline. Major policy measures include
- application pilots in localities with a solid industry foundation
- conventional industry policy tools including fiscal and tax incentives
- local-level policy incentives
- public services, including training, certification, investment and entrepreneurial support
- talent cultivation in universities and vocational schools
- international cooperation, not least through the Belt and Road