The Chinese President Xi Jinping recently highlighted the considerable potential of blockchain technology in a speech at an academic conference. This marks the first time that the Chinese leader has publicly endorsed the budding blockchain technology, and some are hoping that his statements might foreshadow more cryptocurrency friendly regulations in the Middle Kingdom. Moreover, Xi noted that blockchain technology is a vital part of the ”technology revolution” China is aiming to undergo in order to increase its competitiveness in the global marketplace.

These comments came during the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ annual academic conference. Xi compared the advent of blockchain technology to technologies that allowed for the industrial revolution – a parallel which is often drawn by blockchain enthusiasts, who sometimes refer to the adoption and development of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology as the ”fourth industrial revolution”. Xi said that ”a new generation of industrial revolution” has reshaped the international economic structure following the beginning of the 21st century. He pointed to internet-of-things, artificial intelligence, and blockchain as aspects that will keep the momentum of this industrial revolution going, through ”constant application breakthroughs”.

The Chinese leader also announced that China intends to launch a series of national laboratories with ”high standards”, presumably being cutting-edge research facilities, that aims to ”foster research and development of technology infrastructure”. Xi stated that this is a necessary step for China to take in order to retain its competitiveness against other nations. Xi did not elaborate on exactly how he intends to utilize the blockchain. However, these statements were made mere days following a communique from China’s government’s central administrative branch also mentioned blockchain technology. It is therefore clear that top-level officials in China are aware of the potential related to the blockchain, and it seems as if they might be warming to it.

Moreover, the Chinese State Council has already included a mention of blockchain technology as a part of the nation’s current ”information technology reformation strategy”. This is part of a five-year plan which stretches from 2016 to 2020, and it seems evident that blockchain will play an even more significant role in the updated version of the nation’s five-year plan. Furthermore, China’s State Council also recently ordered that the free-trade zone in the city of Guangdong should aim to speed up its blockchain development and hasten the development of blockchain technology use cases, as part of the Guangdong region’s economic reform.

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