R3 CEO: Ma Mingzhe is using a whiteboard to draw the evolution of distributed ledger technology

Rage Comment : R3CEV blockchain alliance members come from Asia, Europe and North America. Obviously, Ping An, the world's second largest economy, joining the organization is extremely important to its global strategy. Therefore, after the first meeting between R3CEV Global Executive Director Clive Cooke and Ping An CEO Ma Mingzhe, he said that Ping An has a large network in China, a complete and independent ecosystem, and is the best opportunity for R3 to enter China. Ping An's attitude towards blockchain technology is very positive and practical. He believes that Ping An's understanding and development of blockchain and cooperation with R3CEV will greatly promote the development of blockchain in China.

Translation: Annie_Xu

When Chinese financial giant Ping An joined the R3CEV blockchain consortium, it also added a number of new members, effectively opening the door to the world's second-largest economy.

Ping An has a market capitalization of $90 billion and 27 subsidiaries, with operations in a wide range of industries, including life insurance, banking and securities.

But Ping An, which has $765 billion in assets, doesn't want to go it alone in the blockchain technology space, according to company members.

So earlier this year, Ping An Chief Innovation Officer Daniel Tu called R3CEV Global Executive Director Clive Cooke and expressed his desire to join R3. Currently, R3 Alliance has more than 40 financial institutions as members worldwide.

Daniel Tu

Daniel Tu said in an interview that the company has been leading the exploration of Bitcoin and blockchain technology since 2013, and his boss also ordered him to test the fit between distributed ledger technology and the business of Ping An subsidiaries.

“I think the important thing is that we can find application points from all these business lines. R3 is a collaborative organization. We cannot work alone. We need to work together and exchange ideas.”

A recent Forbes ranking shows that Ping An, founded in 1988 by current CEO Ma Mingzhe, has 1.3 million employees, making it the 20th largest company in the world.

Gathering strength

Cooke said Ping An’s call showed him an opportunity to expand the areas where R3’s technology could be implemented.

"Ping An is not only a financial institution that wants to integrate new technologies, but also an independent ecosystem. Ping An has its own network in China, and R3 also has its own network."

Daniel Tu and Cooke both described to reporters their first meeting, when Cooke, who had been CEO of City Index Ltd for seven years, had just joined R3.

Cooke happened to be traveling to South Korea when Daniel Tu called him. Two weeks later, Cooke rushed to meet the founder of Ping An in a car.

Cooke and a senior executive walked into the stately Ping An building. Cooke and Ma Mingzhe each wore earphones, and the translator sat in a corner.

Clive Cooke

Although Cooke said R3 had previously engaged with Chinese financial institutions, most of them had come to consult on how distributed ledgers work.

But soon after the meeting, both sides were already sketching out their ideas on the whiteboard next to them.

"It seems that Ma Mingzhe always carries a whiteboard, and after 25 minutes of conversation he starts describing on the whiteboard the transformative nature of distributed ledgers."

Blockchain Project

After officially launching the partnership on May 24, Daniel Tu and Jessica Tang, director of Ping An’s blockchain initiative, formed a team of 15 employees from Ping An’s technology and finance departments, as well as the chief technology officers of the group’s subsidiaries.

Although Daniel Tu did not provide details on the work of Ping An’s internal blockchain team, he pointed out that two proof-of-concept mechanisms are currently being developed and the company is working hard to learn blockchain technology.

Daniel Tu said:

“We want to make sure the learning curve is short, and we are objective but positive about what blockchain can bring.”

Daniel Tu pointed out that the People’s Bank of China and government regulators are also closely following the development of blockchain both domestically and internationally.

His words are obviously significant because Shanghai-based Wanxiang Blockchain Labs announced the ChinaLedger project, a blockchain protocol for building blockchains.

Daniel Tu said:

"This is a highly regulated industry and we need to act quickly and agilely while remaining legal."