Their aggressive moves to dominate this emerging tech sector is getting results as well, over the last 2 years the amount of blockchain related patents filed by Chinese companies is more than double the number of patents filed by American companies.
This week there's been 3 new moves step things up even further.
First, China now even wants a piece of America's blockchain industry, with a Chinese Private Equity Firm announcing a $270 million investment in Overstock.com's blockchain subsidiary tZero.
Then on the Chinese domestic front, Bank of China has announced their intentions of increasing their investments in several sectors of emerging technology, including both blockchain and Internet Of Things (IoT). “Mainly focusing on data sharing, cross-border payment, digital currency, digital bills, etc” says Bank of China’s Chief Information Officer Liu Qiuwan.
Lastly, China's Ministry of Information Technology has said their goal is now to accelerate the implementation of blockchain in government and business in China - they believe the tech is ready to be launched on an 'industrial scale'.
As a guest speaker at the National Expert Forum on Manufacturing Powerful Countries, deputy director of China's Ministry of Information Technology Xin Guobin said:
"Blockchain can make up for the deficiencies of traditional credit system, prevent information tampering and forgery, and save society money. In finance, e-commerce, smart medical care, social security, Internet of Things, energy and other fields, and will have an important impact.”
What's clear is that the race is on between the US and China to determine which will be named the 'leader' in blockchain tech.
The question that will be answered soon is: which is more powerful? Chinese companies backed by their government? Or Silicon Valley backed by venture capital? At this point, things are too close to call, while China leads in total patents - quantity doesn't necessarily beat quality in the world of tech.
Author: Ross Davis
E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM
San Francisco News Desk
