(Kitco News) - China’s stance towards digital assets continues to thaw as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released a document encouraging the development of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized applications (dApps) as part of a move to embrace and integrate blockchain technology.
“Our Ministry attaches great importance to Web3.0 industrial development,” the Ministry said in the document, which was written in response to inquiries from Johnny Ng, a member of the CPPCC National Committee, the country’s top political advisory body. “The emphasis will be on key areas such as governance and industry, and encouraging the exploration of new business models like NFTs and decentralized applications, expediting innovative applications and the construction of a digital ecosystem for Web 3.0.”
The document noted that the ministry plans to launch pilot projects related to distributed digital identity to explore web3 digital identity authentication and management.
“In the next step, in response to your suggestions, our Ministry will strengthen synergy with relevant departments to promote Web3.0 technological innovation and high-quality industrial development,” the Ministry said.
To achieve this goal, the Ministry provided four points of focus.
“One is to improve the top-level design,” they said. This will be achieved by strengthening web3 research, formulating web3 development strategy documents that meet China’s national conditions, “clarifying Web3.0 development paths, technological priorities, and application models, and handling the relationship between inheritance and innovation, development and security, government and market, supply and demand.”
“The second is to strengthen technical research and supervision,” they said. This includes supporting “enterprises, universities, and research institutions with carrying out Web3.0 technology system research to achieve key core technology breakthroughs in cross-chain, privacy calculations, and smart contracts.”
It also includes “deploying blockchain security supervision and governance technology research, carrying out alliance chain technology convergence and cross-chain mutual recognition research, and exploring blockchain technology system architecture that takes into account the open characteristics of the public chain and the easy-to-regulate characteristics of the alliance chain,” the Ministry said.
The Ministry also recommends expanding international exchange and cooperation by “Closely following the cutting-edge developments of Web3.0 in international political and industrial research; Encouraging scientific research institutes, universities, enterprises, etc. to participate in Web3.0 related global standardization activities; and by promoting participation and leading in the formulation of Web3.0 related international standards, fact standards, and international alliance standards.”
They also encouraged cultivating “high-end talents with innovative capabilities to build a high-level talent team.”
“The fourth is to increase technical publicity and promotion,” they said. This can be achieved by “Building and using the resources of existing popular science platforms and continuing to improve public understanding and awareness of Web3.0 technology through the dissemination of information on official new media platforms.”
This also includes the promotion and implementation of distributed digital identity (DID) pilot projects that “explore institutions and individuals Web3.0 digital identity authentication and digital asset management systems, establish data governance and transaction circulation mechanisms, and form typical demonstration projects that can be replicated and promoted,” they said.
This announcement from the Ministry comes after several local governments pledged to develop the metaverse industry earlier this year. In August, the southwestern province of Sichuan pledged to grow its metaverse industry to reach a market size of 250 billion yuan ($35.1 billion) by 2025.
And earlier in December, state-backed Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) China launched a national-level real-name decentralized identifier system in support of the country’s Ministry of Public Security research institute.
“China RealDID is viewed as an extension of Anicert’s Cyber Trusted Identity,” BSN said, adding that the system launch is a “bold step in personal data protection.” The system enables users to register or log into a commercial website with their DID addresses and private keys, according to BSN.
