Wu Zhongze, a prominent former cabinet member of the Chinese government on Information Technology (IT) has recently commented that the blockchain industry is still maturing and it could be a while before it becomes useful for the masses. Zhongze, a former deputy minister on Information for the Central Chinese government believes that the technology will take time before eventually becoming a part of everyday tech life. He gave his opinion during a wide-ranging interview with news organization The Paper earlier this week.
Zhongze gave this opinion despite reports from China that show that the Chinese government is moving towards mass adoption of blockchain technology. The central government in the East Asian country is known for its pro-blockchain stance and has invested a lot of money in the sector. It has also recently advertised for this sector as well. The country is also reportedly gearing up to become the world’s first state to have a blockchain-based Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC. So, for the former IT minister to come out and say that the tech is not yet ready for the masses seems a little out of touch from the hyped up discussion that the current government machinery is portraying in the country.
In addition to categorizing the current development of the sector, Zhongze also candidly said that there wasn’t much difference between China and other more Western countries when it came to cutting edge blockchain development and application development.
Zhongze told The Paper:
[There is ]not much difference between where China and leading economies such as the United States and Europe”
However he does acknowledge that the Chinese blockchain infrastructure has some lead in the hardware side of things and security development but that is about it. He is also optimistic regarding the future of the Chinese development for the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). He also believes the early onset of new technologies like 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) and data centers will help the Chinese infrastructure become better equipped to handle the innovation of tomorrow.
China remains one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world when it comes to distributed technologies. However, the government still maintains a tight control around cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. In many ways these digital currencies are the main advantage of the sector and due to censorship, China may be losing this sector to other more fiscally liberal countries. However, it is believed that these restrictions might be eased in the near future as the Chinese economy shifts from volume-based output to innovation and design-focused one.
Image source: pixabay.com
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