China Launches a Blockchain Technology Innovation Center

China’s government has launched the National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center in Beijing to support blockchain technology research.

By launching this research center, which was originally announced in February, the Chinese government wants to support the development of breakthroughs in blockchain technology. However, the country still maintains a nationwide ban on cryptocurrencies. According to kitco.com, the research center will collaborate with local universities, think tanks and blockchain companies.

Part of this effort to further blockchain development in China includes accelerating the construction of “ultra-large-scale” blockchain computing power clusters. Furthermore, the center aims to help connect the siled application chains that have been developed in China in recent years, and to create a national blockchain computing power network made of provincial and municipal backbone node networks and industrial application node networks.

The institution aims to train more than 500,000 specialists in blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to achieve its goals. The center will be run by the Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing, which developed ChainMaker, a local blockchain backed by a consortium of Chinese businesses such as China Construction Bank and China Unicom.

Developing blockchain with Chinese characteristics

According to kitco.com, China’s recent efforts are in line with their vision to create blockchain technologies with Chinese characteristics. While the country sees cryptocurrencies as a threat to the financial system, it believes that it is necessary to promote and integrate blockchain technologies. Specifically, the country has more than 1,400 blockchain-related companies, as well as at least 29 cities and provinces that have included blockchain as part of a five-year plan for 2021 to 2025.

Regarding the development of a digital central bank currency, China’s digital yuan pilot is running in 17 provinces, including 26 major cities and more than 5 million merchants. In May 2023, the French bank BNP Paribas partnered with the Bank of China to market the digital yuan to corporate customers.

The main objective of this partnership is to allow BNP Paribas China’s corporate clients to connect to the BOC system. This will allow users to manage their digital yuan wallets by linking them to their bank accounts, track transactions and make payments with China’s digital currency via an e-CNY management system. The management system also aims to make it easier for customers to use digital cash for real-time transactions.