China Launches First Blockchain Research Center

China, which has been one of the crypto-unfriendly nations, has now approved the launch of a blockchain research center in Beijing.

In this research hub also called the National Blockchain Technology Innovation Centre, a series of explorations into technology for industrial applications would be conducted. Ultimately, the objective is to incorporate blockchain into daily life.

The decision to approve this blockchain innovation was made by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology. The ministry is directing its focus toward blockchain as a tool that can be engaged in the individual life of its citizens as well as the nation’s economy in an attempt to make blockchain technology central to China’s digital infrastructure.

According to the South China Morning Post, the National Blockchain Technology Innovation Centre which will be the responsibility of the Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing “will focus on areas of blockchain regarding fundamental theory, software, and hardware, with the aim of developing related key technologies and industrial application.”

There will be strategic partnerships with universities, research institutes, and businesses in China to move this innovation forward. 

China Maintains Crypto-Unfriendly Stance

For a country like China which banned cryptocurrency at a certain time and convicted persons found to engage in its trade, this research hub is a reflection of the government’s interest and willingness to be associated with the underlying blockchain technology. Noteworthy, China has been making moves on blockchain as far back as 2021 and even mentioned the introduction of a national blockchain standard.

Li Ming, the director of the Blockchain Research Office under the country’s standardization institute discussed its release at the fifth Blockchain Development Competition in Sichuan. The clampdown on cryptocurrency did not deter China from taking interest in other forms of digitization. Apart from blockchain, China included Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and big data on its priority list.

While China maintains its stance on cryptocurrency, over 1,800 blockchain-related companies are listed with the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). Some large Chinese firms are also inking collaborations globally. In December, Alibaba Cloud, a leading cloud service provider in Asia as well as the subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba onboarded the Avalanche public blockchain.