China’s three major telecoms operators launched a blockchain research group, which has held its first meeting, local media outlet Fintech News reports July 23.

The product of China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, the group involves a total of twenty experts from eight companies including Huawei, Union Mobile, and Financial Technology (UMF).

The aim, an unnamed China Mobile official said, is to “build a trustworthy blockchain application team to explore the blockchain area.”

“It's a solution in terms of order management, contract management and creation of use cases,” the official added.

The telecoms group will reportedly seek to increase understanding of “new applications in the area of ​​blockchain digital assets, telecommunication assets and next-generation telecommunication network,” in conjunction with local industry participants.

China’s commitment underscores bullish sentiment on blockchain’s potential value for the global telecoms industry, with a report earlier this month estimating the technology could contribute as much as $1 bln by 2023.

The move continues China’s coordinated approach to blockchain exploration ahead of universal standards that are set to govern the domestic industry by the end of 2019.

China will also lead an international research group on blockchain and IoT, Cointelegraph reported last week, focussing on “global development and [promoting] the integration of fiat and [the] digital economy.”