China’s MIIT seeks to develop national standards to support the development of the technology in the country
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (IT) has announced (link in Chinese) on that it is setting up a national technical standardisation committee for blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT).
The Information and Software Services Division of the Ministry of Industry and IT, along with the China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI), will set up a committee to promote national blockchain and distributed ledger technology.
While China is already participating in the TC 307 commission under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which focuses on framework for blockchain use in authentication and smart contracts, the IT agency said it is now eying the country’s own dedicated initiative.
While China has banned certain activities related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies, such as initial coin offerings and centralised digital currency trading, the country’s authorities have publically maintained a positive view on blockchain technology. The latest initiative signals that the authorities are determined to keep the country at the forefront of the burgeoning sector and adds to existing efforts in that direction.
One of China’s top retailers, JD.com launched a blockchain incubation startup in late February of this year. The same retailer also began using blockchain to track the supply chain of its meat sales in early March.
