China’s Communist Party Central Committee and State Council issued a new economic blueprint on Oct. 9 that designates the construction of a national blockchain network as one of 19 measures to advance the country’s digital infrastructure. The policy, distributed through the state news agency Xinhua on the government’s website, positions this blockchain initiative alongside a nationwide computing grid within a specific section dedicated to merging traditional industry with digital technology.
The document explicitly warns officials against creating asset bubbles and abandoning the real economy for the virtual one. This cautionary language underscores the state’s continued preference for tangible industrial output over speculative financial instruments, a stance that has defined Beijing’s regulatory approach to digital assets for years.
Integrating Industry and Data
The blueprint backs the “East Data, West Computing” initiative, which directs data from eastern cities to western data centers to balance regional development and computational load. The plan also calls for the development of rules regarding who owns and trades data, a critical step for establishing the legal framework for China’s digital economy. Follow-up work for implementing these provisions has been assigned to the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission and the National Development and Reform Commission.
China already operates a state-backed system known as the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), which was launched in April 2020. According to Stanford’s DigiChina project, the BSN does not allow independent cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The new economic document does not specify whether the proposed national network will be built upon the existing BSN infrastructure or developed as a separate system, leaving the technical architecture of the future network undefined.
Crypto Trading Remains Prohibited
The 19-point plan does not mention Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, which remain illegal in mainland China. This omission is consistent with recent regulatory actions. In February, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and seven other agencies restated the ban on cryptocurrency trading. In August, the PBOC’s five-year plan pledged to steadily develop the digital yuan, the country’s state-issued digital currency, signaling a clear preference for centralized, state-controlled digital assets.
Joseph Chee, chief executive of Nasdaq-listed Solana Company, spoke on CNBC three days before the release of the economic blueprint. Chee stated, “I think the crypto is going to go through another super cycle,” and tied the potential for such a cycle to Beijing allowing access to trading. He identified capital flight as the bigger obstacle to crypto adoption but provided no timeline for regulatory changes.
Beijing’s approach continues to focus on state-controlled digital assets and infrastructure rather than decentralized financial systems. The new blueprint signals a continued emphasis on integrating blockchain technology into national industrial and data management frameworks, while maintaining strict prohibitions on private cryptocurrency markets.
Why It Matters
The blueprint confirms China's strategy is to build state-controlled blockchain infrastructure for industrial efficiency, not to open markets for decentralized finance. For global digital asset investors, this reinforces that mainland China remains a closed market for private cryptocurrencies. The focus on the digital yuan and state-backed networks suggests future interoperability challenges for international protocols seeking exposure to the Chinese economy. Regulators in other jurisdictions may view this as a model for sovereign digital infrastructure that excludes private tokens.
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