China Sets 2030 Target for National Blockchain Network and Regional Hubs
China has set 2030 as the target for largely completing a national blockchain network. The plan describes a future infrastructure project, not a system already operating nationwide.
- Planned structure: A central backbone connected to regional hubs.
- Intended uses: Trade, logistics, manufacturing, agriculture and government services.
- Still unspecified: Technical design, operators, funding and any link to the digital yuan.
A target, not a launch announcement
The Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission issued the 14-page National Informatization Plan for the 15th Five-Year Period, according to an Oct. 23, 2025 announcement from the Cyberspace Administration of China. The plan sets 2030 as the target for largely completing a national blockchain network with a central backbone and connected regional hubs.
The distinction matters. The plan sets an objective but does not say the network is operational or give a construction schedule. It names neither a project-specific budget nor the institutions and companies that will build and run the system.
It also leaves the network’s design open. Blockchain systems can allow anyone to participate or limit participation to approved organizations. Access to the underlying data can vary, too. The plan does not say which approach it intends to use, or explain the system’s governance or consensus mechanism, the rules participants use to agree on records.
A 2030 deadline can focus policy and investment, but it does not prove that deployment is underway. Without milestones or technical details, major questions remain about what will actually be built.
Where China wants blockchain applied
The plan places blockchain within a broader digital infrastructure program. Other parts include a national computing network, coordination between computing facilities and electricity supplies, and infrastructure for data circulation and use. The plan calls for applications in shipping, freight trade, government affairs, taxation, carbon reduction and manufacturing.
Regional priorities differ. Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are assigned applications involving dual airport hubs and smart logistics. The Yangtze River Delta is named as a region for greater use of blockchain in trade and finance. In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the plan calls for faster application development, orderly cross-border data flows and cross-border government services. Chengdu-Chongqing is targeted for large-scale applications in commerce, manufacturing and agriculture.
In principle, these priorities could involve shared records that help organizations verify information or coordinate processes. But the plan does not spell out those functions, and the network’s design remains unknown. A shared ledger cannot guarantee that the information entered is accurate, determine who can access it or resolve disputes. Those outcomes depend on rules, governance and implementation, not on the word “blockchain.”
Identity, privacy and data security
The plan calls for improvements to shared services, including distributed digital identity, and for mutual recognition of distributed identities. It also calls for stronger cryptographic protections and wider use of privacy-preserving computing in data circulation and transactions. The document does not say whether these identity services would connect to the blockchain backbone, or how they might do so.
Privacy-preserving computing refers to methods that let data be used or analyzed while limiting exposure of the underlying information. The plan calls for wider use of these methods but does not name specific technologies.
For cross-border data, the plan refers to security assessments, standard contracts for exports of personal information and certification. It also calls for compliance guidance, service centers and testing platforms. These measures are part of the plan’s approach to data flows. The document does not present them as new rules.
The standards section calls for stronger technical frameworks for blockchain, integrated circuits, operating systems and databases. It also urges China to take part in international standards development and work to turn national standards into international ones. The plan lists blockchain among the fields where China seeks internationally leading technology products, alongside artificial intelligence and new display technologies.
Research priorities include quantum computing, communications and sensing, as well as faster development of cryptography resistant to quantum computing. This kind of cryptography is designed to withstand capabilities that future quantum computers could bring to bear on some existing cryptographic methods.
The digital yuan is mentioned, but no blockchain link is given
The plan calls for steady development of the digital yuan, China’s central bank digital currency. It sets no transaction target and gives no timetable for integrating the currency with the proposed blockchain network.
Separate developments do not establish a connection. A draft free trade zone development plan published by the Guangdong Department of Commerce on Aug. 6, 2025 proposed expanding cross-border digital yuan trials. It was a proposal, not a completed rollout.
Crypto.news reported that China’s central bank had approved eight additional banking operators by Aug. 17, 2025, bringing the reported total to 30. Ping An Bank, Bank of Shanghai and Bank of Hangzhou were among those named. Customer services still depended on business and technical preparations. These reports concern digital yuan operators. They do not show that the currency will run on the planned blockchain network.
Part of a wider technology agenda
The plan’s broader 2030 goals include timely commercial services for 6G, though it gives no precise launch date, and a target for core digital economy industries to account for 12.5% of GDP.
The plan’s indicator table lists 10.5% as the 2024 figure, although it appears under a column headed 2025. The document does not explain the discrepancy, so the figure should be read as the table’s stated 2024 statistic, not as a confirmed 2025 result. “Core digital economy industries” is the plan’s category for the GDP target. The headline figure is 12.5% by 2030.
The plan gives no separate spending total or annual construction schedule for the blockchain network. Its implementation provisions put central cyberspace authorities in charge of coordination and monitoring and call for regular national informatization reports. They also refer to fiscal resources and industry funds under applicable rules, long-term investment capital and support from financial institutions for information technology industries. The plan does not say how much funding the blockchain project will receive.
A separate policy opinion issued by the Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council and published by Xinhua on Oct. 9, 2025 contained 19 measures on technology-led industries and the connection between digital technology and production. It forms part of the wider policy backdrop but is separate from the informatization plan.
What remains unresolved
The plan gives blockchain a defined place in China’s national technology agenda and names the sectors and regions where authorities want applications to grow. But it leaves key implementation questions unanswered: who will operate the backbone and hubs, who can participate, how data access will work, and how progress will be measured beyond the 2030 target.
For now, the network is best understood as a significant policy ambition, not a finished national blockchain network or a confirmed digital-yuan blockchain rollout.
Key questions and answers
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When is China’s national blockchain network targeted for completion?
The plan sets 2030 as the target for largely completing it. It gives no annual construction milestones.
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Is the network already operating nationwide?
No launch is announced. The plan describes a future construction objective.
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What does the planned network consist of?
A central backbone and connected regional hubs. The plan also calls for shared services such as distributed digital identity, but does not explain how those services would connect technically to the network.
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Who will control access and operate the network?
The plan does not name the operators or explain participation, data-access rules or governance.
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Does the plan link the network to the digital yuan?
No. It calls for steady digital yuan development but gives no transaction target or integration timetable.
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What is the 2030 digital-economy target?
Core digital economy industries are targeted to account for 12.5% of GDP. The plan lists 10.5% as a 2024 statistic, although it appears under a 2025 column heading.
