On October 9, 2026, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council issued the “Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces,” a policy document outlining 19 measures across areas including technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and institutional reform.

Among the directives is an explicit call to construct a national blockchain network alongside a nationwide integrated computing-power network.

The measure appears in the section addressing the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy, paired with improvements to data-property rights systems, data-element pilot projects, optimized national data infrastructure, manufacturing digitization, the “East Data, West Computing” initiative, smart manufacturing, and industrial internet development.

The guidelines frame the network as infrastructure to support data as a productive factor, facilitate trusted digital interactions across sectors, and help form competitive digital industry clusters.

No technical specifications, operator, budget, or timeline are detailed in the document, and it contains no reference to cryptocurrencies or tokenization.

The focus remains on state-guided digital infrastructure for industrial and data applications rather than open, permissionless ledgers.

This directive continues a long-standing Chinese emphasis on distributed ledger technology rather than marking a sharp departure.

President Xi Jinping elevated blockchain as a priority for core technological innovation in a 2019 speech.

In 2020, authorities launched the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), a permissioned, consortium-style platform led by the State Information Center with involvement from state-owned entities such as China Mobile and China UnionPay.

Designed to lower costs for deploying compliant blockchain applications in government, enterprise, supply-chain, and finance settings, the BSN operates as controlled infrastructure and does not support independent cryptocurrencies.

Parallel efforts have advanced the digital yuan (e-CNY), China’s central bank digital currency, which relies on centralized or hybrid architectures under the People’s Bank of China and has expanded through pilot programs and designated banking operators without dependence on public blockchain systems.

China’s approach has long distinguished between blockchain as a tool for controlled digital systems and cryptocurrency as a speculative or financial-risk activity. Restrictions date back more than a decade.

In 2013, authorities limited banks’ involvement with Bitcoin.

In 2017, regulators banned initial coin offerings and ordered domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to cease operations.

These steps intensified in 2021 with crackdowns on mining and a comprehensive prohibition on cryptocurrency trading and related services, classifying such activities as illegal.

Mainland China maintains that ban, and the latest policy document offers no indication of relaxation.

At the same time, Chinese courts have treated Bitcoin as property in certain contexts.

A 2019 Hangzhou Internet Court ruling recognized Bitcoin as virtual property with value, scarcity, and disposability in a civil dispute.

More recently, courts including those in Qingdao have applied criminal-law property protections in theft cases involving Bitcoin, sentencing defendants on the grounds that the asset has economic value and can be exclusively controlled via private keys or recovery phrases.

Shanghai judicial opinions have similarly stated that personal ownership of cryptocurrency is not illegal, even while commercial trading and related business activities remain prohibited.

These rulings establish limited property-rights recognition for holders in specific legal proceedings but stop short of endorsing broader market participation or integrating Bitcoin into the financial system.Overall, Beijing has shown considerable restraint toward open cryptocurrency ecosystems.

The national blockchain network proposal aligns with prior state-led initiatives focused on permissioned infrastructure, data governance, and industrial digitization—consistent with the digital yuan’s centralized model and the BSN’s design—while preserving tight controls on trading and speculation. The October 2026 guidelines reinforce blockchain’s role within China’s broader strategy of technological self-reliance and productive-force upgrading under Party and state direction.