Zhou Qiang, China’s chief justice, received a briefing on blockchain technology last week during an inspection of the city of Guiyang in southwestern China.

According to domestic media reports, Qiang spoke to local court representatives on projects related to big data and blockchain, a notable development given that he is leading a drive to digitize China’s court system and reduce difficulties inherent in the enforcement of court decisions.

Among the topics reportedly discussed was a national credit system and asset registry, and how the lack of such a system can create issues when a plaintiff asks a court to enforce its decision in civil lawsuits.

Zhou, who is also president of the Supreme People’s Court, reportedly commented:

“Under the leadership of the party, we should beef up the use of information technology, and constantly improve the workflow of the national court system to overcome the difficulties in the enforcement of court decisions.”

Because the court doesn’t know how much of which assets the defendant owns and where the assets are, the investigation process places a huge burden on China’s court system, the article explains.

To combat the issue, Guiyang’s court system is partnering with other municipal agencies in applying big data and blockchain tech to build a social credit system. Launched and supported by Chen Gang, the former secretary of municipal party committee, the campaign puts Guiyang in a leading position among municipal governments in adopting blockchain in governance in China.

Last December, Guiyang released a white paper detailing its blockchain research efforts, making it the first municipal government in China to do so.

Guiyang building image via Shutterstock