China plans a national blockchain network for industry
China's new policy calls for a national blockchain network alongside computing infrastructure and manufacturing upgrades. A Shanghai hub already supports industrial data sharing.
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China has called for a national blockchain network to support the digital economy and industrial development. The Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council published the joint directive on 9 October 2026.
The instruction places blockchain alongside a nationwide computing network, digital manufacturing and better rules for sharing and trading data. It gives the technology a place in China’s national industrial infrastructure policy.
The plan links blockchain, computing and factories
Section nine of the directive calls for both a national blockchain network and an integrated national computing network. The section covers bringing the physical economy and the digital economy closer together, including manufacturing upgrades, smart manufacturing and industrial internet projects.
China also wants to improve the construction and operation of its data infrastructure. The same section includes the East Data, West Computing programme, which distributes computing infrastructure across the country.
| Policy instruction | Intended role |
|---|---|
| Build a national blockchain network | Part of the infrastructure supporting the digital economy |
| Build an integrated national computing network | Coordinate computing capacity across the country |
| Upgrade manufacturing digitally | Bring digital tools into production and industrial operations |
| Improve rules for data use and trading | Establish ownership, transactions, benefit allocation and protection |
Shanghai already has a blockchain hub
China’s National Data Administration described a national blockchain network hub in Shanghai on 13 January 2026. Shanghai Data Group uses the hub within its trusted data-sharing infrastructure, according to the agency’s account.
The services include digital identities, trusted signatures, secure access and records that can be traced for evidence. They help organisations share data across systems, with applications described in transport, finance and healthcare among more than ten fields.
That existing hub provides a concrete example of the industrial data-sharing role associated with a national blockchain network. The October directive puts the network into a broader national development programme.
Data ownership and trading are part of the policy
The October directive calls for stronger systems covering data ownership, market transactions, benefit allocation and protection of rights. It also seeks pilot projects that put data to productive use, alongside the infrastructure programme.
Xinhua’s announcement summarises 19 priority measures across five areas: technological innovation, combining technology and industry, changing development methods, reforming institutions and strengthening the workforce.
The blockchain instruction sits within that wider effort to make research, computing and data useful in production.
Officials want projects suited to local industries
China’s National Development and Reform Commission says the policy should guide development during the 2026 to 2030 planning period. In its 9 October explanation, officials emphasised innovation, reform and approaches suited to local conditions.
The commission wants regions to upgrade established industries while developing new ones. Its explanation cautions against copying the same projects everywhere and against wasteful investment.
The directive assigns coordination and oversight to the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission’s office and the National Development and Reform Commission. Provincial and local implementation is meant to follow the industries and resources each region already has.
Sources
- Xinhua: full authorised Central Committee and State Council directive, 9 October 2026news.cn
- Xinhua: 19 measures across five policy areas, 9 October 2026news.cn
- National Data Administration: Shanghai's trusted data space and blockchain hub, 13 January 2026nda.gov.cn
- Xinhua: National Development and Reform Commission explains the directive, 9 October 2026news.cn
