The Block: Chinese local government eyes adoption of blockchain for service centers

The provincial government of Anhui, China, has announced a plan to adopt blockchain technology across governmental service centers.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Anhui published a new document on Jan. 1 for optimizing the business environment within the province. As a part of the plan, all levels of governments in Anhui will start utilizing new technologies including blockchain and artificial intelligence to offer governmental services on a 24/7 basis, local media outlet Anhui News reported .

The goal, according to the document, is to digitize Anhui’s governance infrastructure and streamline the collection and sharing of government data and resources.

Anhui is part of the “Yangtzu River Delta Dconomy Region,” which also covers Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. In Dec. 2019, China’s central government published a new guideline for the region to prioritize the development of blockchain, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, among other emerging technologies.

By 2025, the guideline said, the region should contribute more than 3% of national research spending in these areas and 65% of overall technological progress.

At the same time, Anhui’s Securities Regulatory Commission has begun an awareness campaign against financial scams, with a focus on illegal blockchain and cryptocurrency initiatives, the agency announced on Jan. 6. The campaign echoes the center’s recently toughened stance on crypto-focused businesses.