Editorial | China on course to reap rewards with blockchain push by Xi Jinping
- Call for more research, support and investment in technology by president can only bring benefits for both the private and public sectors

President Xi Jinping’s recent remarks about the importance of blockchain technology to China and the need to speed up development is timely. Chinese entrepreneurs have been at the forefront of the hi-tech trend from almost the beginning and the nation has a number of pilot projects under way. But for all the talk and hype, the uptake has been relatively slow and there is a need to spur innovation and progress. His endorsement led to a global frenzy of buying in related stocks, pushing up expectations and values.
Xi said blockchain was one of the nation’s core technologies and called for more research, support and investment. As a concept, it is a simple enough idea, being an unalterable digital log of records that can be applied to all manner of transactions. While Beijing has banned its best-known use, in cryptocurrencies, it has an undeniably beneficial place in commerce, banking and finance. Its role in government and the public sector is of particular interest to Beijing. Chinese hi-tech advantage is also an important element of the trade war between China and the United States.
At the heart of blockchain are efficiency, transparency, security and speed. That can have profound benefits for Chinese governance, long affected by tensions between the central and local governments. Through the use of records that cannot be falsified, there can be greater trust and less corruption. Citizens will be able to view and verify data, and records will be secure from hackers. Blockchain technology can put an end to false data from local officials eager to impress with results or meet targets. Most affected have been figures on the economy, industrial output and environmental goals, which, when manipulated to gain favour, can detrimentally harm Beijing’s policymaking. Corruption at the local level has long plagued the nation, and digital records that can be publicly viewed will be a deterrence. But the benefits can extend far into the public sector, ensuring better and more cost-effective health care, improved financial and banking services and safer food, among much else.
There will be further gains from building trust in food, medicine and consumer goods and services. E-commerce companies are developing blockchain-based supply chain solutions to ensure faith in products. One online platform using the technology enables the real-time tracking of chickens on hundreds of farms from egg to plate, with data on what the birds eat, how they are raised, their transport, slaughter and sale – an essential service to officials and consumers worried about bird flu and other diseases getting into the food chain. Any new technology requires time to bring it to fruition. Xi is right to give the nation a push to invest, create and innovate so that it can promptly reap the rewards offered by blockchain.