Highlights:
- China’s capital city, Beijing, released the details of how it will execute blockchain in its operations.
- The 145-page blueprint lays out the first step in accomplishing the most ambitious blockchain project in the megacity of China called Beijing.
- City wants to become a global hub for the expansion of dispersed ledger technology.
The municipal government of Beijing recently released a blueprint to become the center for blockchain invention over the next two years. The blueprint released by the government was of a 145-pages. Beijing is one of the eleven cities across China to announce official plans based on the technology.
“Beijing Blockchain Innovation Development Action Plan (2020-2022),” was released after the speech by Xi Jinping. The city’s municipal government took the initiative. A major aim of the action plan was to make China’s capital one of the first municipalities in the nation to incorporate blockchain technology for the capital’s financial development.
The Beijing government is planning to build a blockchain-based united structure for digital governance, allowing a cross-regional and cross-departmental partnership, and enabling data-sharing between businesses and agencies.
By 2022, Beijing will be the first leading blockchain technology invention center, pioneering talent center, application demonstration center, and an industrial development hub. Thus, the implementation of the ‘Beijing Plan’ for blockchain-enabled social and economic development.
As per a provincial media report, about 140 government services are already using blockchain applications that include electronic certifications, data sharing, epidemic control, and collaborative business management. As per the statement by local government, “blockchain technology helped resume production after the Covid-19 lockdown, and led to a 40% reduction in paperwork, according to the statement.”
The blockchain work committee is headed by the Beijing Municipal Government Service Bureau, Municipal Economic Bureau, and the Municipal Science and Technology Commission. The action plan does not contain details regarding blockchain-based social credit platform and city-wide identity as promised by the Beijing government.
The city also wants to support private sector innovation, other than government applications. Beijing is planning to create a fund program to support blockchain startups, a “talent training system,” and set up blockchain development parks in the city. This venture is one of the key government-sponsored blockchain projects. The Southern Hainan province’s special economic zone set up strategies that have enticed key industries; thus, state-owned companies are working to develop a universally orientated “internet of blockchains.”
Blockchain, particularly cryptocurrencies, were seen with suspicion and encountered severe governing headwinds earlier. However, Bitcoin mining is becoming mainstream, with Sichuan authorities setting up promising strategies.
