China’s top leadership calls for a national blockchain network, minus the tokens

China’s two most powerful policymaking bodies want the country to build a national blockchain network. Just don’t expect a token to come with it. On October 9, 2026, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council released a policy document titled “Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces.” Among its 19 measures is a call to construct a national blockchain network alongside a nationwide integrated computing power network. The document was made public through Xinhua the same day. What the guidelines actually say The core aim is to tie China’s real economy more closely to its digital economy. Blockchain is one tool for that job. Computing power is another. The guidelines also push to strengthen systems for data property rights. That means building formal ways to certify who owns a given piece of data. It sounds dry. It is also the kind of groundwork that has to exist before data can be treated as a tradable economic asset. To get there, the document backs pilot projects focused on data elements. It also calls for optimizing the country’s national data infrastructure. Beyond blockchain, the 19 measures sketch out a list of future industries Beiji...