The Chinese government, ChinaLedger and Shenzhen Alliance have formed a tripartite strategic alliance to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology

Rage Commentary : The tripartite strategic alliance formed by the Chinese government, ChinaLedger and the Shenzhen Blockchain Alliance has formed an unprecedented organizational force that can bring the development of China's blockchain to the world level. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology commissioned the China Electronic Standards Institute to work with key domestic companies such as Ant Financial, Wanxiang Holdings, WeBank and Ping An Insurance to conduct research on blockchain technology and application development trends. Xie Shaofeng, director of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Information and Software Service Industry Department, emphasized the importance of blockchain-driven cloud computing and big data, saying that new information technology will bring revolutionary changes to Chinese society.

Translation: Nicole

The Chinese government has created a blockchain working group to accelerate the development and adoption of blockchain technology, while building momentum for the Shanghai Global Blockchain Summit in September.

The tripartite strategic alliance between the Chinese government, ChinaLedger and the Shenzhen Blockchain Alliance forms an unprecedented organizational force to promote the development of China's blockchain industry and bring China's blockchain development to world-class levels. Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, Ant Financial, WeBank, Wanxiang Holdings, Ping An Insurance and Micro Focus Bank are also involved.

In an official press release, Xie Shaofeng, director of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Information Technology and Software Services Department, spoke on behalf of the government, saying that the world is experiencing a new "technological revolution" and that blockchain and "its applications have an important impact on promoting economic and social development." He called on all players in government and industry to "pool the wisdom of the people and collaborate in innovation."

The working group will focus on important trends at home and abroad, select key technologies and applications worthy of development, identify security issues that exist on the network, and seek feasible government regulatory policies and standards for the blockchain industry.

To conduct research on “blockchain technology development trends and its applications,” the information and software services department (an agency under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) commissioned the China Electronics Standardization Institute in a letter of authorization to conduct research on blockchain technology and application development trends in collaboration with key domestic companies such as Ant Financial, Wanxiang Holdings, WeBank and Ping An Insurance.

Wanxiang Blockchain Lab Director: Du Yu

Du Yu, head of the non-profit research institute Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, told Bitcoin Magazine:

“The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is a government agency that develops standards and rules for China’s industrial and information sectors. Joining the alliance allows companies to participate in blockchain standardization. As a vice-chairman unit, Wanxiang Group plays an important role in promotion and coordination. As a corporate alliance, with its experience and advantages in the automotive parts and vehicle fields, it can promote the development of blockchain in the financial and non-financial fields.”

At the working group's kick-off meeting, Ant Financial's chief architect Tong Ling said that technology that can serve businesses and the Chinese economy can also serve the public and improve the living standards of the Chinese people, but that there needs to be enough room for businesses to innovate without excessive restrictions.

Wanxiang Holdings Vice Chairman: Xiao Feng

Xiao Feng, Vice Chairman of Wanxiang Holdings, noted that building on the work already done by ChinaLedger, called on the working group to ensure that all relevant sectors of Chinese society are involved, while also calling on the international community to get involved.

Xie Shaofeng stressed the importance of blockchain-powered cloud computing and big data, saying the new information technology "will bring revolutionary changes to Chinese society."

The alliance’s committee white paper collaboration group will work under the guidance of relevant government departments, gather “high-end wisdom” from home and abroad, and jointly develop a comprehensive plan to promote the development of the blockchain industry.

The working group’s top priority will be to prepare a proposed development plan and present it to delegates from around the world attending the six-day summit in Shanghai from September 19 to September 24, 2016.

Ming Chan, executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, said the event will build on the first summit co-hosted by Wanxiang Blockchain Lab and Ethereum DevCon in October 2015, making it “one of the most anticipated industry events.”

Chan believes that Shanghai is “not only a global financial center, but also the birthplace of many Asian blockchain pioneers, and the blockchain community can continue to develop in Shanghai,” making it an ideal city to host blockchain summit events.

More than 40 speakers have confirmed their participation at the conference, including representatives from Microsoft, UBS, Santander and EY, as well as blockchain experts from Ethereum, Hyperledger, R3, Ethcore, Circle, ConsenSys, OpenBazaar and Zcash.

China’s strong interest in blockchain

Until recently, the Chinese government has taken a wait-and-see approach to blockchain and digital currencies.

Now the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is experimenting with blockchain technology and its digital currency. Moreover, the Chinese government recently indicated that it is warming up to blockchain and digital technology by recognizing the legal rights of Chinese people to own virtual assets, including digital currency, in the proposed civil law.

Wanxiang Blockchain Labs helped create ChinaLedger, a consortium of regional commodity exchanges, equity exchanges, and financial asset exchanges that aims to create “an open-source blockchain protocol that future developers can build on.”

Advisors from the blockchain community include Jeff Garzik of Bloq, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, Tim Swanson of R3, and Anthony Di Iorio, co-founder of Ethereum and CEO of Decentral.