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Blockchain
TechPolicy

China’s ‘two sessions’: first mention of blockchain in five-year plan boosts still-nascent industry

  • China’s 14th five-year plan sets the policy direction for the world’s second-largest economy in the next half-decade
  • Blockchain plays key role in the country’s digital economy under President Xi Jinping’s Vision 2035 strategy

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(210305) -- BEIJING, March 5, 2021 (Xinhua) -- The fourth session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)
Coco Feng
Blockchain, the technology that enables the creation of a shared and cryptographically-secured digital ledger, was mentioned for the first time in a draft of China’s national five-year plan, the latest of which was approved by the top legislature at the conclusion of its annual meeting on Thursday, although the final version has yet to be made public.

Coming in the form of a lengthy document that is long on big ideas and short on specifics, the 14th five-year plan lays out the broad goals that the country aims to work towards in the next half-decade and beyond.

Under the five-year plan and the Vision 2035 development strategy, also unveiled during this year’s “two sessions”, technology will play an increasingly large role in China’s top-down planning. The digital economy is expected to contribute a greater portion of the country’s GDP; increased technology integration will transform China into a global leader in advanced manufacturing; and cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and blockchain, will become part of everyday life in China.

While China bans the trading of cryptocurrencies, which is supported by blockchain, Beijing has been keen to shore up the use of the technology in other areas. In the run-up to this month’s “two sessions”, more than 20 provinces and municipalities mentioned blockchain in their work reports for this year.

“The inclusion of blockchain in the 14th five-year plan will do good for the development of both the industry and the professionals, and, in a broader sense, will grow the digital economy to a higher quality level,” said Gao Chengshi, a cryptography expert and a founding partner of blockchain developer Shanghai Hashvalue Information Technology.

The move “may push forward the establishment of more industry standards and improve regulation,” according to James Wang and Catherine Hong, analysts at IDC. The market research firm forecasts that spending on blockchain in China will grow at an annual rate of nearly 52 per cent, reaching nearly US$2.3 billion by 2024.

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China calls for more research and investment into blockchain technology

China calls for more research and investment into blockchain technology
The new five-year plan marks China’s biggest political push for blockchain since 2019, when President Xi Jinping endorsed the technology at a group study session for Politburo members. Blockchain, he said, would play “an important role in the next round of technological innovation and industrial transformation”.
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