China National Blockchain Network Enters Top-Level Growth Blueprint

A China national blockchain network now has backing from the very top. Guidelines on developing "new quality productive forces," issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council and published by Xinhua on Friday, October 9, 2026, call for building a nationwide integrated computing power network alongside a national blockchain network, according to the full Chinese text on the central government portal.

What happened

The document is a broad industrial policy blueprint. The government's English-language summary says it sets out 19 key measures in five areas: scientific and technological innovation, integrating sci-tech and industrial innovation, new development approaches, institutional reform and talent development. "New quality productive forces" is the leadership's term for growth driven by advanced technology and higher productivity rather than by investment volume alone.

The blockchain reference sits in the ninth measure, which deals with deeper integration of the real economy and the digital economy. In our translation of the Chinese text, it calls for improving rules on data ownership, trading and income distribution, optimising national data infrastructure, pushing digital transformation in manufacturing and carrying out projects such as the "East Data, West Computing" programme, smart manufacturing and industrial internet development, before adding the construction of a nationwide integrated computing power network and a national blockchain network.

Crypto Briefing reported that the framework also aims to speed up the digital transformation of manufacturing, widen the use of artificial intelligence and improve digital economy infrastructure. It lists quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen energy, nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence and sixth-generation mobile communications as future industries. The framework also calls for more investment in core technologies and basic research, tax incentives for research and development, better financing for technology companies, wider carbon trading, stronger intellectual property protection and education reforms aimed at industrial needs.

According to the English summary, the guidelines stress innovation-driven development and the approach of "establishing the new before abolishing the old," and they give national laboratories a leading role in organising major national science and technology projects. Private companies are encouraged to take the lead on some national technology breakthrough tasks.

Why it matters

Naming a China national blockchain network in a joint Party and State Council document lifts the technology from ministry-level planning into a top-level economic priority. The placement is telling: blockchain appears next to computing power and data infrastructure, not finance. That fits Beijing's long-standing view of distributed ledgers as plumbing for data sharing, traceability and industrial coordination.

It does not signal any softening on crypto. Crypto Briefing noted that China continues to develop blockchain technology while keeping strict restrictions on crypto trading and related business, which authorities classified as illegal financial activity in September 2021. Earlier this year, regulators reaffirmed that policy and extended the framework to areas including yuan-pegged stablecoins and real-world asset tokenisation. Other Asian regulators have taken a more permissive route on tokenisation, as our reports on South Korea's tokenized securities rules and Japan's TradeWaltz stablecoin pilot showed.

The guidelines also contain a warning. The Chinese text tells local officials not to chase bubbles, pursue novelty blindly or invest in a rush, and says those responsible for major losses from blind investment will be held accountable. Crypto Briefing summarised this as a directive to avoid blind investment, industrial bubbles and excessive competition. "Seizing this historic opportunity requires moving faster to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology," said Wang Shengxiao, a researcher at the Central Party School, in the official English summary.

What's next

The document sets direction rather than technical detail. It does not say who will operate the national blockchain network, what standards it will use or when it will be built. Those details usually arrive later in ministry-level plans and pilot programmes. The guidelines also encourage foreign venture capital firms and international standards bodies to develop in China, and call for an efficient and secure mechanism for cross-border data flows.

For global crypto markets, the direct impact is likely to be limited, because tokens and public cryptocurrency trading remain outside the permitted perimeter. The more relevant question is whether a China national blockchain network becomes the default ledger for state-linked data, logistics and trade platforms, and how it might connect with other countries' systems. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.