China To Widen Scope Of Blockchain Cross-Border Platform

China is in the midst of planning to build out its blockchain cross-border pilot platform, according to Lu Lei, the deputy head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), as Reuters reported.

Lu said the regulator will reinforce the fusion of FinTech and the foreign exchange market and will oversee the advancement of new technology.

“We will gradually expand the scope of the pilot and the application scenarios of blockchain technology in cross-border financing and macro-prudential management,” Lu said at a forum in Beijing. “At the same time, (the government) will push forward a prospective study on foreign exchange reforms to deal with cryptocurrency and explore the construction of the foreign exchange regulation and technology system under the new situation.”

Lu said that SAFE’s cross-border financing blockchain platform is the only such platform certified by a central state agency at the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

SAFE is primarily responsible for reviewing the drafting of ordinances and regulations that facilitate foreign exchange market activities and state foreign exchange reserves. Initially launched in March, the platform has expanded from nine to 19 provinces and cities in November, according to Global Times, as reported by Reuters.

The expansion of the pilot program followed the endorsement of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who remarked that China should accelerate the development of blockchain technology. His remarks triggered more businesses to explore blockchain technology.

Tencent’s WeBank, a digital bank in China that provides loans to individuals and small businesses, will be the technical infrastructure provider for the country’s national blockchain network. The blockchain network, which is called the Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN), uses the open consortium chain FISCO BCOS. The network is not comprised of a single blockchain, but rather the consortium is a set of blockchain applications meant to aid the public.

The BSN is made up of 14 members. It will work on developing and operating the blockchain-based applications that will reside in the network, with each member contributing knowledge in their respective fields.