China Calls for National Blockchain Network

China’s Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council have called for a national blockchain network as part of a policy blueprint aimed at linking the digital economy with manufacturing and other parts of the real economy. The October 9 document, titled Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces, sets out 19 measures. It calls for the blockchain network alongside an integrated national computing network, and places both within a broader agenda for digital infrastructure and industrial development. The policy also addresses manufacturing upgrades, industrial internet projects and the East Data, West Computing program, which is intended to route data from eastern regions to computing centers in the west. It calls for improvements to national data infrastructure and rules governing data ownership, trading and the protection of participants’ interests. The document also proposes pilot projects involving data as an economic resource. The policy establishes a national blockchain network as an objective, but does not describe how it will be built or operated.