Wealth and skills flow into the sector as a result of strong government support for technology and industrial innovation.
China is bullish on the nascent blockchain business, which it sees as the next frontier for national competitiveness and a digital future.
As one of the first major governments to see the potential of blockchain technology, China is pushing up efforts to acquire global dominance over blockchain, the underlying technology that underpins digital currencies such as bitcoin and a variety of other applications.
In October, President Xi Jinping emphasized the relevance of blockchain technology in the new round of technical innovation and industrial transformation, calling for increased efforts to encourage blockchain technology development and industrial innovation.
The country is now enjoying a blockchain boom thanks to Xi’s remarks, which triggered a rush of activity.
Experts and entrepreneurs feel that the government’s strong support for blockchain technology will help the sector flourish in the future, but they warn that the idea should not be overstated.
By integrating distributed data storage, encryption techniques, and other modern technologies, blockchain creates an open and decentralized record of every transaction involving money, products, and property, among other things. It generates a record whose legality can be verified by the entire community, ensuring excellent security.
Wei Kai, deputy head of the Cloud Computing and Big Data Research Institute of the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology, believes that as money and expertise pour into the blockchain business, the technology will be used to a wide range of real-world scenarios.
“The Chinese government’s strong support for blockchain technology will help to standardize and develop it.” “Blockchain development will assist the financial industry and the real economy since it will help improve efficiency, cut operational costs, and build a more efficient credit system,” Wei said at the recently ended Trusted Blockchain Summit 2019 in Beijing.
According to Wei, blockchain technology will usher in a new era of innovation in a range of industries, including cross-border payments, global trade, logistics, supply chain, banking, government affairs, intellectual property protection, food traceability, and invoicing.
China is at the forefront of global blockchain development, according to a recent report published by the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology, with the country racing ahead in terms of blockchain patent filings.
As of July 25, 2019, there were over 18,000 blockchain patent applications filed worldwide, with China accounting for more than half of the total. Alibaba and China Unicom ranked first and fifth among the top 20 worldwide corporate applications, respectively.
According to the report, 2,450 blockchain enterprises had been founded globally as of August 2019, mostly in the sectors of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology research and development. The United States leads all other countries in terms of the number of blockchain companies, followed by China and the United Kingdom.
The blockchain revolution is taking over the United States. According to the study, as of May 2019, more than 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions had issued orders to promote blockchain technology, including Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Guizhou provinces.
The CAICT’s Wei noted, “The major motivations for the development of this new technology were to address the problem of trust between multiple agents, reduce communication costs, and boost collaboration efficiency.”
Blockchain technology, on the other hand, is still in its infancy, according to Wei.
“We still have concerns like a lack of regulation, immature technologies, and a demand for blockchain capabilities that outnumbers supply,” Wei continued. “As we move toward a blockchain future, we must remain logical and not hype the blockchain concept.” Not every situation needs the usage of blockchain, and we must determine the best course of action.”
China’s blockchain spending is likely to grow fast in the next years, according to a recent report by global research firm IDC.
Between 2018 and 2023, China will account for nearly 68 percent of all blockchain spending in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the study. The country will grow at a compound annual rate of 65.7 percent throughout that time, while the Asia-Pacific region will grow at a rate of 50.3 percent.
According to Jeff Xie, senior industry researcher at IDC Asia-Pacific, the adoption rate of blockchain technology has been gradually increasing.
Employees of a water service provider used a blockchain management system to assess the quality of drinking water at a recent expo in Fuzhou, Fujian province. [Photo/Xinhua]
“Blockchain use cases are maturing as well,” Xie said in the study, “filtering out the overhyped or overselling the technology from implementations where blockchain gives value to ecosystems.”
“Because blockchain is here to stay, businesses must examine the benefits of the technology, just as they do with other emerging technologies, and identify possible areas of application where the technology might save money and improve efficiency.” “With proper analysis, blockchain implementation can help organizations better their digital transformation path,” Xie continued.
China’s blockchain spending is likely to grow fast in the next years, according to a recent report by global research firm IDC.
Between 2018 and 2023, China will account for nearly 68 percent of all blockchain spending in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the study. The country will grow at a compound annual rate of 65.7 percent throughout that time, while the Asia-Pacific region will grow at a rate of 50.3 percent.
According to Jeff Xie, senior industry researcher at IDC Asia-Pacific, the adoption rate of blockchain technology has been gradually increasing.
Employees of a water service provider used a blockchain management system to assess the quality of drinking water at a recent expo in Fuzhou, Fujian province. [Photo/Xinhua]
“Blockchain use cases are maturing as well,” Xie said in the study, “filtering out the overhyped or overselling the technology from implementations where blockchain gives value to ecosystems.”
“Because blockchain is here to stay, businesses must examine the benefits of the technology, just as they do with other emerging technologies, and identify possible areas of application where the technology might save money and improve efficiency.” “With proper analysis, blockchain implementation can help organizations better their digital transformation path,” Xie continued.
Many tech companies are preparing to launch blockchain-related businesses, and many have already made great progress, recognizing the blockchain sector’s enormous potential.
Tencent, the Chinese internet juggernaut, worked together with the tax department in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, to provide the city with blockchain-based invoicing. The first blockchain-based invoice was received in August 2018 by a local diner in Shenzhen.
Financial insurance, wholesale, retail, hotels, catering, property management, parking, transit, and internet services have all benefited from Shenzhen’s blockchain-based invoice system.
As of December 24, 2019, Shenzhen had issued over 14.2 million blockchain-based invoices worth a total of 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion).
Xi’s words, according to Li Maocai, Tencent’s general manager of blockchain technology, highlighted the crucial relevance of blockchain technologies in future development.
“Cryptocurrency is just one of many blockchain applications,” Li said. “With the government’s strong support, blockchain companies, experts, and institutes will push harder for breakthroughs in the underlying technologies and the removal of current technological barriers, boosting the entire industry.”
He believes that more work is needed to connect blockchain with cloud computing, big data, the internet of things, and other new technologies to solve real-world problems, and Tencent will continue to investigate blockchain gaming, supply chain finance, and blockchain-based invoicing, among other areas.
Xunlei, a Chinese blockchain juggernaut, is also working hard to stake a mark in the rapidly rising blockchain business.
Xunlei has applied for over 100 blockchain patents so far, the most of which are related to the core underlying technology.
As of October 2019, the corporation encompassed the following industries: environmental protection, telecommunications, traceability, biotechnology, live services, digital media, information services, advertising, public welfare, catering, insurance, and copyright.
According to Xunlei, the Copyright Protection Center of China, digital marketing service provider Hylink, and Thailand’s Naresuan University Hospital were among the company’s collaborators.
Due to the government’s strong commitment to blockchain, according to Lai Xin, chief engineer of Xunlei’s ThuderChain blockchain platform, a wide range of blockchain initiatives will emerge in 2020.
The long-term goal is to concentrate on blockchain technology applications, according to Lai. “At the moment, the issue is a lack of willingness on the side of some firms and organizations to adopt blockchain, as well as a talent shortage.” More work is needed to develop big-picture thinkers and cryptography experts.”
