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Beijing is officially the first blockchain city in China, according to the country’s official ranking. In third place is the country’s second largest city, Shanghai, which ranks behind Shenzhen, the booming blockchain hub.
The rankings came out of a special session of the International Services Trade Fair, the first major international economic and trade convention to be held in China since the coronavirus pandemic struck late last year.
The conference, also known as the Beijing Fair, hosted a “Global Fintech Blockchain Summit,” at which 83 out of 100 Chinese cities were ranked in terms of their blockchain progress. The organizers coined the name “2020 Blockchain Innovation Ranking”.
As a reminder, China is very advanced in the domain of cryptocurrency and after tip-toeing for a while around their legality and now the digital yuan is very close to being rolled out according to many sources inside China. It is so advanced in the domain that it is believed to have up to six years in advance on its neighbor Japan on the potential rollout of a state cryptocurrency.
According to the state media Finance.China.com, the rankings are based on “multiple sources” and “objective data”, without giving more details.
The organizers ranked cities according to their R&D infrastructure, level of industrial development, popularity of local offerings and city policy.
The city of Jiujiang, in Jiangxi province, was ranked in the top 50, with a score of less than 36 out of 100.
But further up the list, Beijing scored a near-perfect 99.82 at the top of the list, while Shenzhen, the country’s center of gravity for the blockchain, scored 91.2. The city is home to more than 5,000 blockchain companies, according to published figures.
Shanghai, one of the largest trade capitals in East Asia, is lagging behind with just under 88%. Hangzhou and Guangzhou complete the top 5 with 86.5% and 77% respectively.
The authors of the report noted that Beijing and Shanghai have enjoyed massive natural advantages in R&D, industrial development and public awareness, enabling them to achieve such a high score.
The capital city also led the individual rankings in all but one category – local politics – where it was edged out by Chongqing, which scored a perfect 100/100 in this area.