China sets 2030 target for national blockchain network

China has set a 2030 target to largely complete a national blockchain network, placing a central backbone, regional hubs, and distributed digital identity services in its latest five-year information technology plan.

The Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission issued the National Informatization Plan for the 15th Five-Year Period, according to an Oct. 23 announcement from the Cyberspace Administration of China. The 14-page document directs authorities to build blockchain infrastructure and develop applications in shipping, government services, taxation, and carbon reduction.

The plan describes a future construction target, without announcing that the national network is operational. Its blockchain provisions do not name a native cryptocurrency, approve token trading, or specify investment access for US investors.

China’s blockchain network will connect a backbone and regional hubs

In its infrastructure program, the plan calls for faster completion of a central backbone network and for regional hubs to be connected and brought into operation. The same program requires improvements to shared services, including distributed digital identity.

For commercial applications, the document directs authorities to expand the scale and quality of shipping and freight trade digitization. It names development and reform work, low-carbon transition, government affairs, and taxation as areas where major applications should be developed.

The construction program sits within a section on integrated application infrastructure. Alongside blockchain, the plan calls for a national computing network, coordination between computing facilities and electricity supplies, and infrastructure supporting data circulation and use.

An earlier national blockchain proposal appeared in a separate policy opinion published by Xinhua on Oct. 9, as crypto.news previously reported. Issued by the Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council, that opinion contained 19 measures covering technology-led industries and the connection between digital technology and production.

The Oct. 23 plan’s overall objectives place a largely completed national blockchain network alongside next-generation communications infrastructure and the timely start of commercial 6G services by 2030. The document does not give the blockchain project a separate spending total or an annual construction schedule.

Regional blockchain projects cover trade, logistics, and manufacturing

The plan assigns different blockchain applications to several major economic regions, with logistics, financial services, and production appearing across its regional development program.

For Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, the document calls for blockchain applications involving the region’s dual airport hubs and smart logistics. Its Yangtze River Delta provisions direct deeper use of blockchain in trade and finance.

Across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the program calls for faster development of blockchain applications, orderly cross-border data flows, and government services that can be handled across borders. The Chengdu-Chongqing section specifies large-scale blockchain applications in commerce, manufacturing, and agriculture.

In a separate regional proposal published Aug. 6, Guangdong’s Department of Commerce sought to expand cross-border digital yuan trials through its draft free trade zone development plan. That consultation document covered additional financial products, offshore finance, and financial technology testing; the August proposal was a draft, not a completed rollout.

For industrial development nationally, the October plan lists blockchain among the fields where China seeks internationally leading technology products. Other named fields include integrated circuits, new display technologies, and artificial intelligence.

Digital yuan development appears alongside data security measures

Within its provisions for upgrading traditional industries, the plan directs the steady development of the digital yuan. It separately calls for promoting and regulating electronic trade documents, while encouraging digital consumption and more online services.

China’s central bank had approved eight additional banking operators by Aug. 17, taking the total to 30. The approval covered institutions including Ping An Bank, Bank of Shanghai, and Bank of Hangzhou, with customer services dependent on completion of business and technical preparations.

The new information technology plan does not set a digital yuan transaction target or provide a timetable linking the currency to the national blockchain backbone.

Its data security section calls for deeper use of blockchain and privacy-preserving computing in data circulation and transactions. The same section directs stronger cryptographic protection, promotion of the national online identity authentication public service, and mutual recognition of distributed digital identities.

For cross-border data, the document retains references to security assessments, standard contracts for personal information exports, and certification. A dedicated program calls for industry compliance guidance, service centers, and testing platforms to support those procedures.

Blockchain standards and funding fall under the implementation program

The standards section directs improvements to technical frameworks for blockchain, integrated circuits, operating systems, and databases. It calls for participation in international standards development and efforts to convert national standards into international ones.

Elsewhere, the technology research program includes quantum computing, quantum communications, and quantum sensing. Its security research provisions call for faster work on cryptography resistant to quantum computing.

The plan’s main indicators set a 2030 target for core digital economy industries to account for 12.5% of GDP. The comparison figure of 10.5% is explicitly identified in the table as a 2024 statistic, despite appearing under the column headed 2025.

The final implementation section assigns coordination and monitoring to the central cyberspace authorities, with regular national informatization reports. It directs the use of fiscal resources and industry funds under applicable rules, support for long-term investment capital, and guidance for financial institutions to support information technology industries.