A few weeks ago, the government of Beijing published a two-year plan in which they describe their goals with regard to the integration of the blockchain. The Chinese capital is to become an international "blockchain hub" and also integrate the technology into its administration.
The government's main goals are defined in the 145-page action plan, which includes building a blockchain-based unified framework for digital administration, simplifying the exchange of data between government agencies and businesses, and facilitating interdepartmental and interregional cooperation, Technode reports.
China as a pioneer in the blockchain sector
Beijing is not the first city in China to actively seek to promote the development of blockchain technology. Since President Xi Jinping called for a more in-depth study of the technology in October last year, many Chinese companies and local governments have begun to make plans to do so. Beijing is now going one step further and aims to become the leading center for blockchain innovation by 2022.
As a first step, Beijing wants to establish a unified platform for China's social credit system, which will later form the basis for further government services. According to the plan, the Blockchain is intended to help the government to check and evaluate information on the social credits of individuals and companies more efficiently. This will be done in close cooperation with a national blockchain of China, supported by the central government.
Administrative bodies of the megacity should switch to blockchain
In another draft, published last Thursday, the next steps are listed. They specifically identify twelve areas that can benefit from blockchain technology. These include issues such as logistics and communication between administrative departments, the collection of electricity bills, property management and e-governance. The government also sees opportunities to use the network effectively in the financial sector.
In addition, the city government will create a separate fund to provide financial support for blockchain projects with government money. How much money this will involve is still unknown. What is known, however, is that the city administration wants to make rooms available to start-ups throughout the city and help them with research subsidies. They will also offer a training course for government personnel and encourage blockchain companies to set up their own training centres.
Allegedly, 140 public services are already on the blockchain, including applications for data exchange, enterprise connectivity and COVID-19 control, which would have helped save a lot of time and get production back on track after the lockdown.