China seeks to release three blockchain standards in 2018

An organization backed by the Chinese government is planning to release three blockchain standards on smart contracts, privacy and deposits, China Money Network reported.

In May, reports suggested that the government was working on national standards for blockchain technology, which were being targeted to be completed by the end of 2019. Li Ying, head of the IT Ministry's Information and Software Department, had said that the national technical committee for blockchain standardization was expected to be ready within this year.

Li Ming, a director of blockchain research lab of the China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI), an organization under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), has now told DeepTech that the three blockchain standards would be released this year which will better guide the development of the blockchain industry in China.

Li explained that the three blockchain standards will be association-based, which will serve as a basis for national and international standards. He emphasized that the blockchain standards are all “recommended standards and not mandatory.”

CESI’s Blockchain Technology and Industry Development Forum (CBD Forum) is currently working to get the draft on the three blockchain standards ready by the end of this year. Founded in 2016 under the guidance of the MIIT, CBD Forum has published the "China Blockchain Technology and Application Development White Paper (2016)" and "Reference Architecture of Blockchain" standards.