The government of Shanghai on Tuesday published a set of guidelines to promote blockchain technologies, the digital yuan, and the metaverse in the city’s industries, including auto production, commodity trading and e-commerce platforms. The move by China’s biggest city is in line with the country’s stated goal to focus on adoption of blockchain cost-efficiencies in real world industries.  



See related article: Back to the physical: China metaverse seeks to boost real-world economy



Fast facts




The plan includes blockchain-based platforms for the production, supply and trading of commodities; e-commerce platforms for industrial products; and platforms to assist the digital transformation of legacy industries, according to a Q&A provided with the guidelines.



Use cases include carbon emission management platforms based on blockchain and IoT technologies, and a blockchain-based platform for the automotive industry, Ge Dongbo, chief engineer at the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, said in a Tuesday press release.



The European Blockchain Observatory and Forum noted in a March report that blockchain use in the automotive industry include parts authentication, financial applications, connected vehicle tracking, autonomous driving and more. Automakers including BMW and Mercedes-Benz are already exploring blockchain-based supply chain management, according to the European report.



The Shanghai report, titled Guidelines on the High-Quality Development of Manufacturing Internet Service Platforms, lists blockchain among core technologies of manufacturing internet service platforms, along with artificial intelligence (AI), big data, internet of things (IoT) and the mobile web.



The guidelines follow on from Shanghai releasing its three-year development plan for local manufacturing industries on June 15, which included blockchain technologies.



Shanghai is one of the centers of China’s blockchain industry, establishing its first blockchain industrial complex as early as June 2020, and is home to AntChain, the blockchain branch of China’s financial technology giant Ant Group.




See related article: Beijing to train 10,000 engineers in digital technologies, including blockchain, each year