China policy calls for a national blockchain network
A policy opinion from the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council calls for a national blockchain network as part of a wider effort to connect digital technology with industrial production. It also proposes national computing infrastructure, new rules for data markets and ways to support cross-border data flows. The opinion does not signal any easing of China’s restrictions on private crypto activity.
- The opinion sets out 19 measures for technology-led industries and industrial digitalization.
- It proposes data-market pilots, but leaves key rules and implementation details unresolved.
- Blockchain infrastructure and the digital yuan remain distinct from permissionless cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain as industrial infrastructure
Xinhua News Agency published the opinion. Its proposals include a national blockchain network, an integrated national computing network and upgrades to national data infrastructure. The document also supports smart manufacturing, industrial internet projects, the East Data, West Computing program and wider use of digital technology by businesses.
The stated goal is to bring the digital economy closer to physical production and build internationally competitive digital industries. A shared ledger, for example, could help organizations coordinate records. But the policy does not say whether or how the proposed network would be used for that.
The opinion also leaves out the network’s architecture, operators, participation rules and launch timetable. Those details matter. A permissioned blockchain limits access to approved users. A permissionless network, such as Bitcoin’s, is open for anyone to use and verify. The word “blockchain” alone says little about who would control the proposed system or how independently users could check it.
Data markets, with the rules still to come
The opinion calls for rules on data ownership, transactions, the allocation of rights and protections for participants. It also proposes pilots that treat data as an economic resource and calls for an open, shared and secure data market.
In practice, the pilots could test ways for organizations to exchange or use data under defined rules. But the policy does not say what data they would cover, who could take part or how rights and protections would be enforced. A market needs clear rules on who can use data and on what terms. Without them, “data as a resource” risks becoming a slogan while the hard questions go unanswered.
The document also calls for exploring more efficient cross-border data flows, without specifying which data types or jurisdictions would be covered. That goal comes amid restrictions in other countries. The US Department of Justice’s Data Security Program restricts certain transactions that could give countries of concern or covered persons access to sensitive US data, including government-related information and bulk personal data such as financial, health, biometric and geolocation records. The program identifies China, Hong Kong and Macau as a country of concern.
The program took effect in April 2025. Due-diligence, audit and certain reporting requirements took effect in October 2025. These rules apply to covered transactions and data, not automatically to every data transfer involving China. Still, they show why making data flows more efficient is not just a technical project. Companies must account for legal restrictions as well as the systems moving the information.
Finance and the digital yuan: related, but separate
The opinion calls for using existing fiscal policies and sustaining private investment in technology development. It sets out no funding amount or timetable.
Separately, China’s State Administration of Taxation and National Financial Regulatory Administration have encouraged banks, tax authorities and businesses to share standardized tax information through blockchain systems. The stated aim is to help lenders assess borrowers, improve credit models and loan approvals, and direct financing toward compliant, tax-paying enterprises. This is a more specific use of shared digital records than the national-network proposal, whose practical applications remain undefined.
China is also adding banks to its digital yuan system. The People’s Bank of China approved eight additional banking operators, bringing the total from 22 to 30. The banks named in the announcement include Ping An Bank, Bank of Shanghai and Bank of Hangzhou. Approval does not mean services are already available to every customer. Banks still need to finish business and technical preparations.
The PBOC linked the expansion to the 2026 to 2030 national planning period and said it aimed to improve access to secure and convenient digital yuan services. The digital yuan is central-bank money in digital form, not a private cryptocurrency. A reported cross-border payment offers one example of its potential use: Mobile Payment Network said ICBC’s Shanghai branch and ICBC Singapore settled nearly 10 million yuan in import shipping fees through the upgraded Digital Currency Express platform, with the recipient paid the same day. That is a reported transaction, not evidence that digital yuan settlement has broadly replaced conventional cross-border payments.
Guangdong’s Department of Commerce has also proposed cross-border digital yuan trials in a free trade zone development plan for 2026 to 2030. The draft includes other proposals, such as supply-chain finance and lending backed by intellectual property. These initiatives are part of China’s wider digital-finance push, but they do not explain how the proposed national blockchain network would work.
Blockchain support is not crypto liberalization
China’s support for blockchain infrastructure should not be mistaken for approval of unrestricted cryptocurrency activity. The government can promote systems for industrial or administrative use while keeping strict controls on privately operated crypto markets.
Restrictions on virtual-currency businesses and mining remain. A notice involving the PBOC, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and other agencies also extended oversight to stablecoins and tokenized assets. It says offshore renminbi-pegged stablecoins require authorization and describes enforcement against mining operations presented as data centers.
The distinction is straightforward: blockchain is a way to organize records, and it does not require a freely traded token. Whether China’s proposed network becomes useful infrastructure will depend on its governance, access rules and protections, not on the technology label.
Key questions and answers
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What does China’s proposal include?
A national blockchain network, an integrated computing network, data-market pilots and rules for data rights, alongside support for industrial digitalization.
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Does the proposal lift China’s crypto restrictions?
No. Restrictions on virtual-currency businesses and mining remain, and offshore renminbi-pegged stablecoin issuance requires authorization.
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How many banks are approved as digital yuan operators?
The PBOC’s announced total is 30, up from 22. Customer services depend on each bank completing its preparations.
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What remains unknown about the blockchain network?
The policy does not identify its operators, architecture, participation rules or launch timetable. Those details will determine how the system works in practice.
